Evaluation of In Vitro Activity of Essential Oils against Trypanosoma brucei brucei and Trypanosoma evansi

Essential oils (EOs) from Cymbopogon citratus (CC), Eucalyptus citriodora (EC), Eucalyptus camaldulensis (ED), and Citrus sinensis (CS) were obtained by hydrodistillation process. The EOs were evaluated in vitro for activity against Trypanosoma brucei brucei (Tbb) and Trypanosoma evansi (T. evansi). The EOs were found to possess antitrypanosomal activity in vitro in a dose-dependent pattern in a short period of time. The drop in number of parasite over time was achieved doses of 0.4 g/ml, 0.2 g/mL, and 0.1 g/mL for all the EOs. The concentration of 0.4 g/mL CC was more potent at 3 minutes and 2 minutes for Tbb and T. evansi, respectively. The GC-MS analysis of the EOs revealed presence of Cyclobutane (96.09%) in CS, 6-octenal (77.11%) in EC, Eucalyptol (75%) in ED, and Citral (38.32%) in CC among several other organic compounds. The results are discussed in relation to trypanosome chemotherapy

Marine Greens as Nutritious Healthy Foods

Considering the impact of climate change on conventional agriculture, marine greens are gaining increasing global relevance for utilization as food and feed. The global production of marine greens has in the last decade witnessed a two-fold increase to about 32 million tons of fresh weight per annum, with the industry generating an excess of US$13 billion yearly. The industrial exploitation of marine greens is connected to their high nutritional qualities, which include polyunsaturated fatty acids, proteins, umami flavor, trace elements, and essential minerals. This chapter highlights commonly exploited marine green taxa, their nutritional components, and their utility as potential nutritional sources. Furthermore, the chapter brings to the fore constraints associated with the use of marine greens as food and feed, while pointing readers to future directions with respect to modern biotechnological applications to enhance their diversification and productivit

Chest CT features of patients under investigation for Covid-19 pneumonia in a Ghanaian tertiary hospital: a descriptive study

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has since December 2019 become a problem of global concern. Due to the virus’ novelty and high infectivity, early diagnosis is key to curtailing spread. The knowledge and identification of chest Computerized Tomography (CT) features in Patients Under Investigation (PUI) for the disease would help in its management and containment. Objectives: To describe the chest CT findings of PUI for COVID-19 pneumonia referred to the Department of Radiology of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital; as well as to determine the relationship between symptom onset and severity of the chest CT findings. Methods: The study was retrospective and included 63 PUI for COVID-19 referred to the Department between 11th April, 2020 and 10th June, 2020, for non-enhanced chest CT imaging. Clinical data were obtained from patients’ records and Reverse Transcriptase–Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) results were acquired after the CT evaluation. Results: The mean age in years was 51.1±19.9 SD. More males (52.8%) than females (47.2%) tested positive for COVID-19 and the age range for positive cases was 7 months to 86 years, with a mean of 53.2±21 SD years. Common features of COVID-19 pneumonia were bilateral posterior basal consolidations, Ground Glass Opacities (GGO) and air bronchograms. Findings were worse in patients scanned 5–9 days after onset of symptoms. Conclusion: Adequate knowledge of chest CT features of COVID-19 pneumonia, proves a valuable resource in triaging of symptomatic patients and consequent containment of the disease in the hospital setting

Multi-marker immunofluorescent staining and pd-l1 detection on circulating tumour cells from ovarian cancer patients

Detection of ovarian cancer (OC) circulating tumour cells (CTCs) is primarily based on targeting epithelial markers, thus failing to detect mesenchymal tumour cells. More importantly, the immune checkpoint inhibitor marker PD-L1 has not been demonstrated on CTCs from OC patients. An antibody staining protocol was developed and tested using SKOV-3 and OVCA432 OC cell lines. We targeted epithelial (cytokeratin (CK) and EpCAM), mesenchymal (vimentin), and OC-specific (PAX8) markers for detection of CTCs, and CD45/16 and CD31 were used for the exclusion of white blood and vascular endothelial cells, respectively. PD-L1 was used for CTC characterisation. CTCs were enriched using the Parsortix™ system from 16 OC patients. Results revealed the presence of CTCs in 10 (63%) cases. CTCs were heterogeneous, with 113/157 (72%) cells positive for CK/EpCAM (epithelial marker), 58/157 (37%) positive for vimentin (mesenchymal marker), and 17/157 (11%) for both (hybrid). PAX8 was only found in 11/157 (7%) CTCs. In addition, 62/157 (39%) CTCs were positive for PD-L1. Positivity for PD-L1 was significantly associated with the hybrid phenotype when compared with the epithelial (p = 0.007) and mesenchymal (p = 0.0009) expressing CTCs. Characterisation of CTC phenotypes in relation to clinical outcomes is needed to provide insight into the role that epithelial to mesenchymal plasticity plays in OC and its relationship with PD-L1

Fine-scale distribution of malaria mosquitoes biting or resting outside human dwellings in three low-altitude Tanzanian villages.

BACKGROUND: While malaria transmission in Africa still happens primarily inside houses, there is a substantial proportion of Anopheles mosquitoes that bite or rest outdoors. This situation may compromise the performance of indoor insecticidal interventions such as insecticide-treated nets (ITNs). This study investigated the distribution of malaria mosquitoes biting or resting outside dwellings in three low-altitude villages in south-eastern Tanzania. The likelihood of malaria infections outdoors was also assessed. METHODS: Nightly trapping was done outdoors for 12 months to collect resting mosquitoes (using resting bucket traps) and host-seeking mosquitoes (using odour-baited Suna® traps). The mosquitoes were sorted by species and physiological states. Pooled samples of Anopheles were tested to estimate proportions infected with Plasmodium falciparum parasites, estimate proportions carrying human blood as opposed to other vertebrate blood and identify sibling species in the Anopheles gambiae complex and An. funestus group. Environmental and anthropogenic factors were observed and recorded within 100 meters from each trapping positions. Generalised additive models were used to investigate relationships between these variables and vector densities, produce predictive maps of expected abundance and compare outcomes within and between villages. RESULTS: A high degree of fine-scale heterogeneity in Anopheles densities was observed between and within villages. Water bodies covered with vegetation were associated with 22% higher densities of An. arabiensis and 51% lower densities of An. funestus. Increasing densities of houses and people outdoors were both associated with reduced densities of An. arabiensis and An. funestus. Vector densities were highest around the end of the rainy season and beginning of the dry seasons. More than half (14) 58.3% of blood-fed An. arabiensis had bovine blood, (6) 25% had human blood. None of the Anopheles mosquitoes caught outdoors was found infected with malaria parasites. CONCLUSION: Outdoor densities of both host-seeking and resting Anopheles mosquitoes had significant heterogeneities between and within villages, and were influenced by multiple environmental and anthropogenic factors. Despite the high Anopheles densities outside dwellings, the substantial proportion of non-human blood-meals and absence of malaria-infected mosquitoes after 12 months of nightly trapping suggests very low-levels of outdoor malaria transmission in these villages

Measurement, reporting and verification of climate-smart agriculture: Change of perspective, change of possibilities?

The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Unique Forestry and Land Use and Vuna have been working with stakeholders in four countries in eastern and southern Africa (Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe) to assess the current state of national CSA M&E and to set out country-specific roadmaps for developing systems for monitoring and reporting on CSA. The project took a country-driven approach to documenting stakeholders’ information needs, exploring how to build on and align with existing M&E systems and international reporting frameworks, and encouraging cross-country comparisons. Though the research was grounded in southern Africa, these lessons are applicable to CSA and other topic-driven initiatives (such as land restoration and the Bonn Challenge) across similar environments and social contexts on the continent and around the world. Here we detail three key findings from the assessment

Mesure, notification et vérification de l’agriculture intelligente face au climat: changement de perspective, changement de possibilités ? Conclusions de l’auto-évaluation nationale des besoins, systèmes et opportunités

Depuis 2009, des milliards de dollars ont été investis dans des programmes d’AIC dans le but d’aider les petits exploitants à augmenter leur productivité tout en s’adaptant aux changements climatiques et en contribuant à les atténuer. Cependant, l’AIC a récemment dépassé les cercles de l’aide au développement et de la société civile, et les pays se sont mis à adopter des stratégies d’AIC dans le cadre de leurs politiques et stratégies de riposte aux changements climatiques et de développement agricole, notamment leurs Contributions déterminées au niveau national (CDN)

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

An eclipsing 47 minute double white dwarf binary at 400 pc

We present the discovery of the eclipsing double white dwarf (WD) binary WDJ 022558.21-692025.38 that has an orbital period of 47.19 min. Following identification with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, we obtained time-series ground based spectroscopy and high-speed multi-band ULTRACAM photometry which indicate a primary DA WD of mass 0.40 +- 0.04 Msol and a 0.28 +- 0.02 Msol mass secondary WD, which is likely of type DA as well. The system becomes the third-closest eclipsing double WD binary discovered with a distance of approximately 400 pc and will be a detectable source for upcoming gravitational wave detectors in the mHz frequency range. Its orbital decay will be measurable photometrically within 10 yrs to a precision of better than 1%. The fate of the binary is to merge in approximately 41 Myr, likely forming a single, more massive WD