Studies of Anopheles gambiae s.l (Diptera: Culicidae) exhibiting different vectorial capacities in lymphatic filariasis transmission in the Gomoa district, Ghana

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Two lymphatic filariasis endemic communities Mampong and Hwida in Ghana have been regularly monitored for impact on transmission after annual mass drug administration (MDA) with albendazole and ivermectin. After six MDAs even though the ABR for Mampong was 55883/person/year and that of Hwida was 2494/person/year, they both had ATPs of 15.21 infective larvae/person/year. Interestingly the human microfilaraemia levels had reduced significantly from 14% to 0% at Mampong and 12% to 3% at Hwida. In an attempt to understand this anomaly, we collected mosquitoes over a 5-month period using human landing catches to determine the species composition, the number of cibarial teeth, the lengths and widths of the cibarium and the cibarial dome of the vector populations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Out of 2553 mosquitoes caught at Mampong, 42.6% were <it>An. gambiae </it>s.l. All 280 identified further by PCR were <it>An. gambiae </it>s.s (275 M and 5 S molecular forms). At Hwida, 112 mosquitoes were obtained; 67 (59.8%) were <it>An. gambiae </it>s.l, comprised of 40 (59.7%) <it>An. melas</it>, 24 (35.8%) <it>An. gambiae </it>s.s (17 and 5 M and S molecular forms respectively) and 3 (4.5%) unidentified. The mean number of teeth for <it>An. melas </it>was 14.1 (median = 14, range = 12-15), <it>An. gambiae </it>s.s., 15.7 (median = 15, range = 13-19) M form 15.5 (median = 15 range = 13-19) and S form 16 (median = 16, range 15-17). The observed differences in teeth numbers were significantly different between <it>An. melas </it>and <it>An. gambiae </it>s.s (p = 0.004), and the M form (p = 0.032) and the S form (p = 0.002).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this study, <it>An. gambiae </it>s.s was the main vector at Mampong and was found to possess significantly more cibarial teeth than <it>An. melas</it>, the principal vector at Hwida. We postulate that the different impact observed after 6 MDAs may be due to <it>An. gambiae </it>s.s exhibiting 'facilitation' at Mampong and at Hwida <it>An. melas </it>the main vector exhibits 'limitation'. Thus it may be necessary to compliment MDA with vector control to achieve interruption of transmission in areas where <it>An. melas </it>may exhibit limitation.</p

The Airbus bribery scandal: A collective myopia perspective

Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Drawing on collective myopia as a lens, we explore the infamous Airbus bribery scandal to show how the executives of the global aircraft manufacturer, through their actions and behaviours, institutionalised the payment of bribes to secure contracts. Data for the inquiry consist of publicly available court-approved documents, company website and internal emails, and newspaper articles on the scandal. Unpacking the bribery scheme operated by Airbus, we found that bribing of foreign government officials and airline executives to secure contracts was part and parcel of the firm's organising strategy. In this regard, the organising practices of Airbus actively encouraged employees to break its own bribery compliance policies which they employed as smokescreens to cover their illegal activities. Building on our findings, we developed a collective myopic-bribery framework outlining how the collective myopia in organising drove the bribery activities at Airbus. The implications of the findings for theory and practice are outlined

Environmental performance of chocolate produced in ghana using life cycle assessment

Ghana is an important cocoa producer and exporter and this production is of high economic importance. Increasing interest in the sustainable productions of cocoa/chocolate necessitated the need to assess the environmental impacts associated with the production of different chocolate variants (extra dark (EDC), dark (DC), milk (MC) and flavoured milk (FMC) in Ghana, including the identification of environmental hotspots for improvement. The life cycle assessment tool was used following the CML_IA and CED impact assessment methods. EDC had the lowest scores for most of the impact categories while FMC was most impactful. For Global Warming Potential (GWP), EDC and FMC were estimated to be 1.61 kg CO2 eq. and 4.21 kg CO2 eq., respectively. CED ranged from 1.44 × 102 to 1.50 × 102 MJ-eq. Chocolate manufacturing phase was generally more impactful than cocoa cultivation due to high emissions from milk and sugar production. The impact scores for 100 g packaged chocolate bar were the lowest in comparison to 300 g chocolate pouches and 12.5 g packaged chocolate strips. GWP for 100 g and 12.5 g were 0.20 kg CO2 eq. and 0.39 kg CO2 eq., respectively. Comparing different destination points for the manufactured chocolate, impact scores for the international destination were similar to those recorded for local destinations. Improvement options are suggested for all phases to ensure more sustainable chocolate production and distribu-tion

Characterization of Anopheles gambiae s.l. and insecticide resistance profile relative to physicochemical properties of breeding habitats within Accra Metropolis, Ghana

Malaria is endemic in Ghana as in most countries of sub-Saharan Africa. This study was conducted to characterize Anopheles gambiae s.l. and determine pyrethroid resistance profiles relative to physicochemical properties of breeding habitats in Accra, Ghana. Eight aquatic habitats containing Anopheles larvae were identified and from each habitat, larvae and water were sampled. Adult An. gambiae reared from larvae were morphologically identified and tested for permethrin (0.75%) and deltamethrin (0.05%) resistance using WHO bioassay method. An. gambiae s.s. found were identified to their molecular levels and kdr mutation detected using PCR-based methods. Twenty-nine physicochemical parameters of each water sample were measured and their levels connected with pyrethroid resistance and proportions of An. gambiae s.s. molecular forms in habitats. A total of 2,257 mosquitoes were morphologically identified as An. gambiae s.l. and all 224 processed for PCR were identified as An. gambiae s.s., of which 56.46% and 43.54% were M and S-forms, respectively. Both forms occurred in sympatry in all larval habitats and no S/M hybrids were detected. However, M-form larvae were in high proportion in polluted habitats than the S-form. An. gambiae s.s. was highly resistant to both deltamethrin and permethrin with mortality rates of 42.98-70.0% and 6.5-20.0% respectively. The frequency of kdr mutation was 60.5 % (n=195). This mutation occurred in both S and M-forms, but was mainly associated with the S-form (X2=10.92, df =1, P=0.001). Carbonate and pH were both selected in discriminant function analysis as best predictors of high proportion of M-form in the habitats. The adaptation of An. gambiae s.s. in polluted aquatic habitats coupled with occurrence of insecticide resistance is quite alarming particularly for urban malaria control and needs further exploration in a wider context

Surveillance of viral haemorrhagic fevers in Ghana: entomological assessment of the risk of transmission in the northern regions

Objectives: To assess the risk of transmission of viral haemorrhagic fevers in northern Ghana. Design: A two-year cross-sectional entomological study was carried out in four communities in thenorthern part of Ghana. Standard WHO methods were used to collect adult and larvae of Aedes mosquitoes to estimate man-vector contact rates and larval indices. Results: A total of 2804 households were surveyed to estimate larval indices and man-vector contacts of potential vectors of viral haemorrhagic fevers such as Yellow fever and Dengue. Over 56% households in each study site were positivefor Aedes larvae. Relatively higher Breteaux index (BI) and Container index (CI) were estimated in Damongo (BI: 180 and CI: 44.8) and Jirapa (BI: 149.7 and CI: 41.5) compared to Tumu (BI: 76.1and CI: 19.5) and Bolgatanga (BI: 72.4 and CI: 20.6). Man-biting rates of 9.8 and 18.5 bites /man/hour were estimated for Damongo and Jiraparespectively whilst Bolgatanga recorded 10 B/M/H. Generally, man-vector contact rates in all the study sites were higher during the dry season than the wet season. Larval indices showed seasonalvariations and the dry season was identified as the high-risk period for transmission of viral haemorrhagic fevers and possible disease outbreaks. No flavivirus was detected in the 2034 Aedes mosquitoes from the study sites by RTPCR. Conclusions: Aedes mosquito larval densities and adult biting rates, in all the study areas were sufficientto promote outbreaks of viral haemorrhagic fevers

Life cycle assessment of protected strawberry productions in central Italy

Agricultural activities in Europe cover half of the total area of the continent and are simultaneously a cause of environmental impact and victims of the same impact. Horticultural or fruit crops are considered highly intensive and often employ many crop inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, and various materials. Strawberry falls into this group, and it has grown in acreage and production more than others globally. The aim of this study is to compare the environmental impact of two strawberry cultivation systems in central Italy, a mulched soil tunnel and a soilless tunnel system. The method used to assess the impact is LCA, widely applied in agriculture and supported by international standards. The data used are mainly primary, related to 2018, and representative of the cultivation systems of central Italy. For impact assessment, the method selected was the CML_IA baseline version. From the results obtained, the two systems show a similar impact per kg of strawberries produced (e.g., for global warming: 0.785 kg CO2 eq for soilless, 0.778 kg CO2 eq for mulched soil tunnel). Reduced differences can be observed for the use of crop inputs (greater for the tunnel) and the use of materials and technology (greater for soilless). The mitigation measures considered concern the replacement of the packaging (excluding plastic) and the growing medium of the soilless using perlite and compost from insect breeding

How TalkTalk did the walk-walk: strategic reputational repair in a cyber-attack

Purpose: Cyber-attacks that generate technical disruptions in organisational operations and damage the reputation of organisations have become all too common in the contemporary organisation. This paper explores the reputation repair strategies undertaken by organisations in the event of becoming victims of cyber-attacks. Design/methodology/approach: For developing the authors’ contribution in the context of the Internet service providers' industry, the authors draw on a qualitative case study of TalkTalk, a British telecommunications company providing business to business (B2B) and business to customer (B2C) Internet services, which was a victim of a “significant and sustained” cyber-attack in October 2015. Data for the enquiry is sourced from publicly available archival documents such as newspaper articles, press releases, podcasts and parliamentary hearings on the TalkTalk cyber-attack. Findings: The findings suggest a dynamic interplay of technical and rhetorical responses in dealing with cyber-attacks. This plays out in the form of marshalling communication and mortification techniques, bolstering image and riding on leader reputation, which serially combine to strategically orchestrate reputational repair and stigma erasure in the event of a cyber-attack. Originality/value: Analysing a prototypical case of an organisation in dire straits following a cyber-attack, the paper provides a systematic characterisation of the setting-in-motion of strategic responses to manage, revamp and ameliorate damaged reputation during cyber-attacks, which tend to negatively shape the evaluative perceptions of the organisation's salient audience

Korzystanie z nowoczesnego sprzętu i oprogramowania w procesie treningu z fighterami sztuk walki

Abstrakcja. Cel badania – przegląd nowoczesnego sprzętu i oprogramowania, które może być stosowane w procesie treningu z fighterami sztuk walki. Zastosowanie nowoczesnego sprzętu i oprogramowania w procesie treningu z fighterami sztuk walki ułatwia planowanie, modelowanie, kontrolowanie różne cechy organizmu. To pozwala na zwiększenie efektywności i zmniejszenia wystąpienia przepięć sportowców.Słowa kluczowe: sprzętu i oprogramowania, procesie treningu, sztuk walki, sportowcy

Resistance of diamondback moth to insecticides in selected cabbage farms in southern Ghana

Resistance of diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella (L.) to insecticides applied for its control on cabbage was evaluated. DBM populations were tested for susceptibility to three pyrethroids (delatamethrin, lambdacyhalothrin, cypermethrin) and an organophosphate (chlorpyrifos-methyl) insecticide using larvaeimmersion dose-response technique. Non-specific carboxylesterase activity was used as a measure of DBM resistance. Partial characterization of carboxylesterase by zymogram studies was also undertaken usingpolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Susceptibility studies revealed that DBM was resistant to the four insecticides assayed. DBM was least susceptible to chlorpyrifos-methyl, but most susceptible to deltamethrin.Esterase zymogram studies revealed between 2 to 7 bands, each with different characteristics. Higher frequency of the slow-moving esterases associated with high resistance was recorded in Mampong DBMpopulation than the Accra suburbs. This finding confirmed results for carboxylesterase activity. Deltamethrin and cypermethrin demonstrated high negative correlation between fold resistance and carboxylesterase activity for â-isozyme. Chlorpyrifos-methyl, on the other hand showed positive correlation between fold resistance and á-carboxylesterase activity. The high carboxylesterase activities recorded for Mampong DBM, however, did not correlate with results of susceptibility studies. It is suggested that farmers should adopt an integrated approach using the IPM principles coupled with judicious use of biopesticides such as Bacillus thuringiensis.© 2010 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved