Ecofriendly Control for Stored-Product Pest, Oryzaephilus surinamensis (Order: Coleoptera, Family: Silvanidae)

تُعد التمور من بين الأطعمة الأكثر أهمية في الدول العربية. وعادةً ما تتعرض التمور للإصابة بخنفساء الحبوب المنشارية Oryzaephilus surinamensis. مما يؤثر  بشكل سلبي علي إنتاج التمور من حيث كميتها وجودتها (القيمة الاقتصادية وقابلية البذور للنمو). وقد صممت هذه الدراسة للتحقق من فعالية إزالة الهواء كطريقة صديقة للبيئة وآمنة للسيطرة على بالغ حشرة O. surinamensis. حيث تم الحصول على الحشرات من التمور المصابة من متجر خاص في مدينة سكاكا بمنطقة الجوف في المملكة العربية السعودية. حيث تمت دراسة تأثير الحرمان من الهواء (باستخدام مضخة فراغ) ومقارنته مع تأثير الحرمان الحشرات من الغذاء على O. surinamensis، وتم ملاحظة وفيات الحشرات يوميًا بالمقارنة مع مجموعة الضابطة (التي تم إدارة الطعام والهواء). وقد خلصت النتائج الي ان الحرمان من الهواء او الغذاء يتسبب في زيادة كبيرة في نسبة الوفيات اليومية بالمقارنة مع المجموعة الضابطة. وقد أظهرت نسبة الوفيات التراكمية ارتباطًا إيجابيًا قويًا جدًا مع مدى الزمن في حالتي حرمان الهواء وحرمان الغذاء. استنادًا إلى قيم الزمن القاتل، مما يؤكدان الحرمان من  الهواء يعد طريقة فعالة للغاية وصديقة للبيئة وآمنة للسيطرة على O. surinamensis.Dates are considered one of the most important foods consumed in Arab countries. Dates are commonly infested with the sawtoothed grain beetle, Oryzaephilus surinamensis. Consequently, the date yield, quantity, and quality (economic value and seed viability) are negatively affected. This study was designed to investigate the effectiveness of air evacuation as eco-friendly and safe control method against adult O. surinamensis. Insects were obtained from the infested date purchased from a private store in sakaka city, Aljouf region, Saudi Arabia. Air evacuation (using a vacuum pump) and food deprivation were applied to O. surinamensis, and insect mortality was observed daily in comparison with the control group (administered both food and air). Application of both air evacuation, and food deprivation, significantly, increased the percentage of daily mortality when compared to control. Percentage accumulative mortality displayed very strong positive correlation with the time course in both cases of air-deprived and food-deprived groups. On the basis of lethal time values, the air evacuation method resulted in a comparable effect of food deprivation. Conclusively, the air-evacuation of the package is a very effective Eco-friendly and safe control method against O. surinamensis

Identification, phylogenetic analysis and expression profile of an anionic insect defensin gene, with antibacterial activity, from bacterial-challenged cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Defensins are a well known family of cationic antibacterial peptides (AMPs) isolated from fungi, plants, insects, mussels, birds, and various mammals. They are predominantly active against gram (+) bacteria, and a few of them are also active against gram (-) bacteria and fungi. All insect defensins belonging to the invertebrate class have a consensus motif, C-X_5-16-C-X₃-C-X_9-10-C-X_4-7-CX₁-C. Only seven AMPs have already been found in different lepidopteran species. No report was published on the isolation of defensin from the Egyptian cotton leafworm, <it>Spodoptera littoralis</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>An anionic defensin, termed <it>Spli</it>Def, was isolated from the haemolymph of the cotton leafworm, <it>S. littoralis</it>, after bacterial challenge using differential display technique. Based on sequence analyses of the data, specific primers for full length and mature peptide of defensin were designed and successfully amplified 471 and 150 bp amplicons. The integration of the results revealed that the 471 bp-PCR product has one open reading frame (<it>orf</it>) of 303 bp long, including both start codon (AUG) and stop codon (UGA). The deduced peptide consists of a 23-residues signal peptide, a 27-residues propeptide and a 50-residues mature peptide with the conserved six-cysteine motif of insect defensins. Both haemolymph and expressed protein exhibited antibacterial activities comparable to positive control. The RT-qPCR indicated that it was more than 41-folds up-regulated at 48 h p.i.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results highlight an important immune role of the defensin gene in <it>Spodoptera littoralis </it>by cooperating with other AMPs to control bacterial infection.</p

Role of Culex and Anopheles mosquito species as potential vectors of rift valley fever virus in Sudan outbreak, 2007

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an acute febrile arthropod-borne viral disease of man and animals caused by a member of the <it>Phlebovirus </it>genus, one of the five genera in the family <it>Bunyaviridae</it>. RVF virus (RVFV) is transmitted between animals and human by mosquitoes, particularly those belonging to the <it>Culex, Anopheles </it>and <it>Aedes </it>genera.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Experiments were designed during RVF outbreak, 2007 in Sudan to provide an answer about many raised questions about the estimated role of vector in RVFV epidemiology. During this study, adult and immature mosquito species were collected from Khartoum and White Nile states, identified and species abundance was calculated. All samples were frozen individually for further virus detection. Total RNA was extracted from individual insects and RVF virus was detected from <it>Culex, Anopheles </it>and <it>Aedes </it>species using RT-PCR. In addition, data were collected about human cases up to November 24^th, 2007 to asses the situation of the disease in affected states. Furthermore, a historical background of the RVF outbreaks was discussed in relation to global climatic anomalies and incriminated vector species.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 978 mosquitoes, belonging to 3 genera and 7 species, were collected during Sudan outbreak, 2007. <it>Anopheles gambiae arabiensis </it>was the most frequent species (80.7%) in White Nile state. Meanwhile, <it>Cx. pipiens </it>complex was the most abundant species (91.2%) in Khartoum state. RT-PCR was used and successfully amplified 551 bp within the M segment of the tripartite negative-sense single stranded RNA genome of RVFV. The virus was detected in female, male and larval stages of <it>Culex </it>and <it>Anopheles </it>species. The most affected human age interval was 15-29 years old followed by ≥ 45 years old, 30-44 years old, and then 5-14 years old. Regarding to the profession, housewives followed by farmers, students, shepherd, workers and the free were more vulnerable to the infection. Furthermore, connection between human and entomological studies results in important human case-vulnerability relatedness findings.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Model performance, integrated with epidemiologic and environmental surveillance systems should be assessed systematically for RVF and other mosquito-borne diseases using historical epidemiologic and satellite monitoring data. Case management related interventions; health education and vector control efforts are extremely effective in preparedness for viral hemorrhagic fever and other seasonal outbreaks.</p

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P &lt; 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase&nbsp;1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation&nbsp;disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age&nbsp; 6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score&nbsp; 652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc&nbsp;= 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N&nbsp;= 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in&nbsp;Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in&nbsp;Asia&nbsp;and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Isolation, Characterization and Antagonistic Activity of the External Microflora of the House fly, Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae)

Experiments were designed to isolate, characterize and study the interaction between external microbiota (bacteria and fungi) carried by adult M. domestica after dipping, then removal of the flies from distilled water, sugar solution and saline solution. M. domestica was collected from Sakaka city, Northwestern Saudi Arabia. Three groups of adult M. domestica were completely dipped in and then removed from each of the above-mentioned solutions separately. Bacteria and fungi were isolated using corresponding media, characterized using macro and microscopic examinations, and then tested for antagonistic activity. Three bacterial species; Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and three fungi; Candida albicans, Rhizopus stolonifer and Aspergillus niger have been isolated, characterized and tested for antagonism. Biochemical tests of bacterial strains confirmed the ability to secrete economically important materials. Different efficiencies to ferment sugars and produce gases have been confirmed, too. Antagonistic tests between microorganisms have revealed that both E. coli and P. aeruginosa bacteria are antagonists to both A. niger and C. albicans fungi. However, R. stolonifer fungus is antagonist to both E. coli and P. aeruginosa bacteria. B. subtilis bacterium is antagonist to the 3 fungi and to the other 2 bacteria. The antagonistic activity of our bacterial strains could be attributed to the secretion of antimicrobial materials. Further study on the mechanism of antimicrobial activity of B. subtilis strain is recommended. It was concluded that this strain could be useful in controlling some bacterial and fungal infections

Effect of extreme temperature changes on phenolic, flavonoid contents and antioxidant activity of tomato seedlings (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Background Climatic changes are the most important abiotic factor affecting plant growth, crop quality and nutritional value. Plants exposed to thermal stress respond by accumulation of secondary metabolites/molecules (SMs). Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a cosmopolitan crop, eaten by most of the world’s people because it is highly nutritious plant. It is cultivated in more than 16 thousand hectares in Saudi Arabia and thus is influenced by extreme climatic changes. Objective In the current study, the phytochemical effect of thermal stress was investigated in seedlings of S. lycopersicum. Such information will be very helpful in developing more tolerant tomato cultivars in a climate change scenario. Methods Seedlings of S. lycopersicum were subjected to heat shock; HS1 and HS2 (45 and 50 °C) and cold shock; CS (4 °C) in comparison to control; Con (25 °C). Phenolic compounds, flavonoids, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant activity were estimated under the four temperature treatments. Results Using 23 standards (17 phenolic and six flavonoids), HPLC resulted in the estimation of 16, 20, 15 and 18 compounds for Con, CS, HS1 and HS2, respectively. Differences in the amounts of total phenolics, and total flavonoids were strongly correlated to thermal stress. CS plants exhibited the highest number of signals and the highest absolute quantities of total phenolics, flavonoids and sum of both. The major peaks of phenolics were (Chlorogenic acid, Resvertol), (Vanillic acid, Benzoic acid, Quinol), (Vanillic acid, Benzoic acid) and (Vanillic acid, Benzoic acid) for Con, CS, HS1 and HS2, respectively. The major peaks of flavonoids were (Quercetin, Myricetin), (Quercetin, Rutin), (Quercetin, Rutin, Catechin) and (Quercetin) for Con, CS, HS1 and HS2, respectively. CS plants contain the highest amounts of Benzoic acid (8010.37 mg/kg FW) and Quercetin (2319.48 mg/kg FW). The highest TPC (131 mg GAE/100 g FW) and TFC (61 mg QE/100 g FW) were determined in the case of CS plants. In terms of IC50s, the CS plants showed the highest antioxidant activities (lowest values) in both of DPPH (467.73 µM TE/100 g FW) and ABTS (8.97 µM TE/100 g FW) assays. Conclusions Our findings supported that the complexity and quantity of phenolics and flavonoids in tomato’s extract are strongly related to thermal stress. Additionally, the CS plants demonstrated more desirable phytochemical profile over the other treatments. CS plants exhibited higher number, absolute amounts of SMs, higher TPC and TFC than those of Con, HS1 and HS2 plants. Additionally, CS plants showed higher antioxidant activity than that of both HS1 and HS2 plants. Such results are very useful in justifying mechanism of tolerance in tomato plant to thermal stress in the context of climate change. Additional research has turned on to reveal molecular response of tomato to such thermal stress

Composition and Diversity of the Culturable Endophytic Community of Six Stress-Tolerant Dessert Plants Grown in Stressful Soil in a Hot Dry Desert Region

Saudi Arabia is part of a hot dry desert region and is characterized by stressful conditions. The main goal of this research was to identify endophytic fungal (EF) community composition, diversity and abundance in relation to their plant hosts and soil stress. The above-ground parts of six wild plants (Haloxylon salicornicum, Salsola kali, Heliotropium bacciferum, Erica verticillata, Salsola imbricata and Bienertia sinuspersici) were sampled, surface-sterilized and cut into small pieces, which were cultured and incubated for 4&ndash;6 weeks. Isolates were grouped and identified by using both morphological and ITS rDNA molecular data. The diversity and community structure of plant-endophyte associations were studied. A total of 455 EF isolates were grouped into 25 different taxa; 21 of which were identified at the species level, 2 at genus level and 2 were unclassified fungi. Here, 95.65% of the identified genera were Ascomycota; of which 36.36, 31.81 and 31.81% were members of the classes Dothideomycetes, Eurotiomycetes and Sordariomycetes, respectively. S. imbricata showed the highest isolation rate and colonization frequency (CF%) of EF when compared to other plant species. Additionally, S. imbricata demonstrated the highest species richness and species diversity of the EF community predominated by the genus Fusarium. Conclusively, the core culturable EF genera of six wild plants were identified (unculturable taxa were not identified in this study). The composition of the EF community was revealed to have a strong correlation to both the electrical conductivity and pH of the soil and a moderate correlation to both the host species and the host family. The abundance and diversity of EF communities of the six plants were environment-dependent

Quantitative protein analysis of the crude haemolymph of <i>S. littoralis</i> and expressed antibacterial peptide after induction of the recombinant <i>E. coli</i> by IPTG.

<p> <b>Cont-H : Untreated crude haemolymph.</b></p><p> <b>Inf-H : Treated haemolymph.</b></p><p> <b>Expec. Lec. : Expected lectin concentration.</b></p><p> <b>Induced: IPTG induced </b><b><i>E. coli</i></b><b> culture.</b></p><p> <b>NonInd : Non-induced </b><b><i>E. coli</i></b><b> culture.</b></p><p> <b>Expressed P.: (Induced – Non-induced).</b></p><p> <b>Purified : Purified expressed peptide using Ni-affinity column.</b></p><p> <b>Loss: Loss due to purification.</b></p