The Drosophila retinoblastoma binding protein 6 family member has two isoforms and is potentially involved in embryonic patterning.

The human retinoblastoma binding protein 6 (RBBP6) is implicated in esophageal, lung, hepatocellular and colon cancers. Furthermore, RBBP6 was identified as a strong marker for colon cancer prognosis and as a predisposing factor in familial myeloproliferative neoplasms. Functionally, the mammalian protein interacts with p53 and enhances the activity of Mdm2, the prototypical negative regulator of p53. However, since RBBP6 (known as PACT in mice) exists in multiple isoforms and pact−/− mice exhibit a more severe phenotype than mdm2−/− mutants, it must possess some Mdm2-independent functions. The function of the invertebrate homologue is poorly understood. This is complicated by the absence of the Mdm2 gene in both Drosophila and Caenorhabditis elegans. We have experimentally identified the promoter region of Snama, the Drosophila homologue, analyzed potential transcription factor binding sites and confirmed the existence of an additional isoform. Using band shift and co-immunoprecipitation assays combined with mass spectrometry, we found evidence that this gene may be regulated by, amongst others, DREF, which regulates hundreds of genes related to cell proliferation. The potential transcription factors for Snama fall into distinct functional groups, including anteroposterior embryonic patterning and nucleic acid metabolism. Significantly, previous work in mice shows that pact−/− induces an anteroposterior phenotype in embryos when rescued by simultaneous deletion of p53. Taken together, these observations indicate the significance of RBBP6 proteins in carcinogenesis and in developmental defects.SP201

Capacity building efforts for rabies diagnosis in resource-limited countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: a case report of the central veterinary laboratory in Benin (Parakou)

Rabies has been listed as a priority zoonotic disease in many African countries and the countdown to reach the goal of eliminating dog-mediated human rabies deaths by 2030 means that disease control measures need to be applied fast. In this context, an essential pillar of any national plan to control rabies is the implementation of reliable diagnostic techniques to ensure the success of field surveillance systems. Although many African countries have received international support for the control of rabies-some countries, like Benin, have not received a similar level of support. Indeed, until 2018, Benin was not able to diagnose rabies and rabies diagnosis in animals as well as humans relied solely on observed clinical symptoms. Although the Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) of Parakou had the equipment to implement two recommended tests, the lack of specific reagents and skills prevented the implementation of a rabies diagnostic service. Here we present the joint efforts of the national authorities in Benin, intergovernmental agencies, and non-governmental organizations to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the government's rabies control efforts. We have applied the Stepwise Approach toward Rabies Elimination (SARE) analysis, implemented rabies diagnostic capacities at the CVL of Parakou, characterized strains of rabies virus circulating in Benin, and finally integrated an inter-laboratory comparison program

Drug resistance and viral tropism in HIV-1 subtype C-infected patients in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: implications for future treatment options

Article approval pendingDrug resistance poses a significant challenge for the successful application of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) globally. Furthermore, emergence of HIV-1 isolates that preferentially use CXCR4 as a coreceptor for cell entry, either as a consequence of natural viral evolution or HAART use, may compromise the efficacy of CCR5 antagonists as alternative antiviral therapy

Winter absconding as a dispersal mechanism of the Cape honeybee

The dispersal characteristics of the African honeybee, Apis mellifera scutellata, resulted in a greatly mobile hybrid front in the New World, but in Africa its hybridization zone with the Cape honeybee, Apis mellifera capensis, appears very stable.The maintenance of stable hybrid zones is predicated on a balance between dispersal and selection Knowledge on the extent of gene flow from either race is in its infancy, and the probability of successful dispersal by either race has not yet been considered. Both capensis and scutellata are notorious for absconding, capensis the more so for resource-related seasonal absconding in winter. The two races also differ fundamentally in the ways they conserve heat both behaviourally and physiologically. We investigated the energy consumption and colony survival characteristics of capensis in terms of winter absconding in a climate with cycles of warm days interspersed with cold days. These are compared with calculated values for scutellata to assess whether capensis might have a directional gene flow advantage over scutellata in their zone of hybridization

Insecticide resistance and the future of malaria control in Zambia.

BACKGROUND: In line with the Global trend to improve malaria control efforts a major campaign of insecticide treated net distribution was initiated in 1999 and indoor residual spraying with DDT or pyrethroids was reintroduced in 2000 in Zambia. In 2006, these efforts were strengthened by the President's Malaria Initiative. This manuscript reports on the monitoring and evaluation of these activities and the potential impact of emerging insecticide resistance on disease transmission. METHODS: Mosquitoes were captured daily through a series of 108 window exit traps located at 18 sentinel sites. Specimens were identified to species and analyzed for sporozoites. Adult Anopheles mosquitoes were collected resting indoors and larva collected in breeding sites were reared to F1 and F0 generations in the lab and tested for insecticide resistance following the standard WHO susceptibility assay protocol. Annual cross sectional household parasite surveys were carried out to monitor the impact of the control programme on prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum in children aged 1 to 14 years. RESULTS: A total of 619 Anopheles gambiae s.l. and 228 Anopheles funestus s.l. were captured from window exit traps throughout the period, of which 203 were An. gambiae malaria vectors and 14 An. funestus s.s.. In 2010 resistance to DDT and the pyrethroids deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin and permethrin was detected in both An. gambiae s.s. and An. funestus s.s.. No sporozoites were detected in either species. Prevalence of P. falciparum in the sentinel sites remained below 10% throughout the study period. CONCLUSION: Both An. gambiae s.s. and An. funestus s.s. were controlled effectively with the ITN and IRS programme in Zambia, maintaining a reduced disease transmission and burden. However, the discovery of DDT and pyrethroid resistance in the country threatens the sustainability of the vector control programme

Reflections on IDEAL: What we have learnt from a unique calf cohort study

The year 2020 marks a decade since the final visit was made in the ‘Infectious Diseases of East African Livestock’ (IDEAL) project. However, data generation from samples obtained during this ambitious longitudinal study still continues. As the project launches its extensive open-access database and biobank to the scientific community, we reflect on the challenges overcome, the knowledge gained, and the advantages of such a project. We discuss the legacy of the IDEAL project and how it continues to generate evidence since being adopted by the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH). We also examine the impact of the IDEAL project, from the authors perspective, for each of the stakeholders (the animal, the farmer, the consumer, the policy maker, the funding body, and the researcher and their institution) involved in the project and provide recommendations for future researchers who are interested in running longitudinal field studies.The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK Government’s Department for International Development and the International Livestock Research Institute.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/prevetmedam2021Veterinary Tropical Disease

Study protocol for a randomised pilot study of a computer-based, non-pharmacological cognitive intervention for motor slowing and motor fatigue in Parkinson’s disease

Abstract Background Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic, neurodegenerative disorder affecting over 137,000 people in the UK and an estimated five million people worldwide. Treatment typically involves long-term dopaminergic therapy, which improves motor symptoms, but is associated with dose-limiting side effects. Developing effective complementary, non-pharmacological interventions is of considerable importance. This paper presents the protocol for a three-arm pilot study to test the implementation of computer-based cognitive training that aims to produce improvements or maintenance of motor slower and motor fatigue symptoms in people with PD. The primary objective is to assess recruitment success and usability of external data capture devices during the intervention. The secondary objectives are to obtain estimates of variance and effect size for changes in primary and secondary outcome measures to inform sample size calculations and study design for a larger scale trial. Methods The study aims to recruit between 40 and 60 adults with early- to middle-stage PD (Hoehn and Yahr 1–3) from National Health Service (NHS) outpatients’ clinics and support groups across North Wales, UK. Participants will be randomised to receive training over five sessions in either a spatial grid navigation task, a sequential subtraction task or a spatial memory task. Patient-centred outcome measures will include motor examination scores from part 3 of the UPDRS-III and data from movement kinematic and finger tapping tasks. Discussion The results of this study will provide information regarding the feasibility of conducting a larger randomised control trial of non-pharmacological cognitive interventions of motor symptoms in PD. Trial registration ISRCTN, ISRCTN12565492. Registered 4 April 2018—retrospectively registered, in accordance with the WHO Trial Registration Data Set

Location of chlorogenic acid biosynthesis pathway and polyphenol oxidase genes in a new interspecific anchored linkage map of eggplant

© Gramazio et al.; licensee BioMed Central. 2014. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated