Diet supplement effect based on cottonseed meal and Vitellaria paradoxa leaves on Borgou cows performance in rainy season

An experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of supplementing lactating cows with cottonseed meal and Vitellaria paradoxa leaves in the rainy season on milk yield and content, cows daily weight gain andprofitability. The experimental design was 3 × 3 Latin square with 5 repetitions. Fifteen Borgou cows were offered three diets: grazing on natural pasture, grazing on pasture plus 1.5 kg of cottonseed meal supplement and grazing on natural pasture plus 500 g of Vitellaria paradoxa leaves. Daily milk yield was 946.58 g, 1690.07 g and 1176.89 g for the control, cottonseed meal and Vitellaria paradoxa leaves group respectively. Cows supplemented with cottonseed meal produce significantly (p < 0.05) more milk than the others. The mean values were 15.12%, 0.35%, 5.92% and 4.13% respectively for total solid, ash, fat and protein content. Vitellaria paradoxa leaves significantly (p < 0.05) increase total solid level and ash as well as ash with cottonseed meal. Furthermore, calves daily weight gain (DWG) was significantly different. A net return analysis shows that cottonseed meal and Vitellaria paradoxa leaves supplementation in rainy season wasprofitable even if Vitellaria paradoxa leaves were more beneficial

Caractéristiques physico-chimiques, phytochimiques et toxicité des espèces végétales utilisées comme emballages alimentaires en Afrique de l’Ouest

Le présent travail vise à caractériser quatre espèces de feuilles végétales utilisées comme emballages alimentaires en Afrique de l’Ouest. La caractérisation a été réalisée au plan physico-chimique, phytochimique et de la toxicité au moyen de méthodes de références. Il est apparu que les teneurs en protéines, en lipides totaux et en cendres totales sont respectivement de 6,0 ; 4,6 ; 8,7% pour Tectona grandis ; 16,0 ; 4,3 ;  9,1% pour Musa sapientum ; 12,5 ; 4,6 ; 7,0% pour Thalia geniculata et 13,4 ; 2,0 ; 7,2% pour Manihot esculenta. Une diminution significative de ces valeurs a été observée après 3 jours de conservation des produits emballés dans ces espèces de feuilles. Le fer est présent dans toutes les espèces, notamment dans Manihot esculenta (8,4%), Tectona grandis (4,4%) avec une légère diminution après emballage des produits. La teneur en vitamine C est présente uniquement dans les feuilles de  Manihot esculenta dans l’ordre de 0,4%. Les tanins, les catéchiques, les anthocyanes, les leuco-anthocyanes, les mucilages, les flavonoïdes et les coumarines ont été identifiés dans toutes les espèces de feuilles  analysées. Toutes les espèces de feuilles analysées se sont révélées non toxiques.Mots clés : Emballages végétaux, emballages alimentaires, Bénin, valeur nutritionnelle, toxicité des plantes, caractéristiques phytochimiques

Variation diurne de la composition chimique et influence sur les propriétés antimicrobiennes de l’huile essentielle de Ocimum canum Sims cultivé au Bénin

L&rsquo;huile essentielle de Ocimum canum Sims (Lamiaceae) obtenue par hydrodiffusion &agrave; diff&eacute;rents moments de la journ&eacute;e a &eacute;t&eacute; analys&eacute;e par GC/FID et GC/SM puis test&eacute;e sur diff&eacute;rentes bact&eacute;ries par la microtechnique de dilution. Le rendement et la composition chimique de l&rsquo;huile varient selon le temps et l&rsquo;ensoleillement. Abondant le matin &agrave; 7 heures (1,71&plusmn;0,01%), le rendement d&eacute;cro&icirc;t progressivement avec l&rsquo;augmentation des rayons solaires, jusqu&rsquo;&agrave; son minimum &agrave; 13 heures (1,35&plusmn;0,01%) quand le soleil est au z&eacute;nith, avant de cro&icirc;tre &agrave; nouveau &agrave; sa valeur la plus &eacute;lev&eacute;e (1,78&plusmn;0,02% &agrave; 19 h) au couch&eacute; du soleil. Plus de 54 compos&eacute;s repr&eacute;sentant pr&egrave;s de 98% des hydrodiffusats, ont &eacute;t&eacute; identifi&eacute;s dans les diff&eacute;rents &eacute;chantillons. Les principaux sont : &alpha;-thuj&egrave;ne (5,56 &agrave; 7,85%), &beta;-myrcene (2 &agrave; 6,94%), &delta;-3-car&egrave;ne (3,07 &agrave; 4,84%), p-cym&egrave;ne (14,61 &agrave; 22,8%), g-terpin&egrave;ne (6,05 &agrave; 10,7%), carvacrol (7,94 &agrave; 30,8%), &beta;-caryophyll&egrave;ne (0,15 &agrave; 18,86%) et &beta;- s&eacute;lin&egrave;ne (2,74 &agrave; 14,41%). Les taux de certains constituants comme &beta;-caryophyll&egrave;ne et &beta;-s&eacute;lin&egrave;ne croissent avec l&rsquo;ensoleillement contrairement &agrave; ceux du carvacrol, p-cym&egrave;ne. Cette variation diurne perturbe la synergie d&rsquo;action des constituants de l&rsquo;huile qui pr&eacute;sentent une forte activit&eacute; inhibitrice (0,38 &agrave; 7,19 mg/ml) sur Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Escherichia coli ATCC 25923, Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 19609 et Staphylococcus aureus r&eacute;sistante 1199B NorA. Les huiles obtenues &agrave; 7 heures et 19 heures sont les plus efficaces &agrave; faible concentration (0,38 &agrave; 2,88 mg/ml). Pour la premi&egrave;re fois, l'interaction est d&eacute;montr&eacute;e entre variation diurne de la composition chimique et propri&eacute;t&eacute;s antimicrobiennes de l'huile essentielle de Ocimum canum Sims du B&eacute;nin.Keywords: Ocimum americanum, compos&eacute;s volatils, Ch&eacute;motype &agrave; carvacrol Variation diurne-Activit&eacute; antibact&eacute;rienn

Observational study of influence of aerosol hygroscopic growth on scattering coefficient over rural area near Beijing mega-city

We investigated aerosol hygroscopic growth property and its influence on scattering coefficient using M9003 nephelometers in coupling with humidity controlled inlet system at a rural site near Beijing mega-city from 24 April to 15 May 2006. Inlet relative humidity was controlled in an increasing range of 40%–90% while aerosol hygroscopic growth factor of scattering coefficient, f(RH=80%) as ratio of scattering coefficient at RH=80% to "dry" scattering coefficient (RH<40%) varied in a range of 1.07–2.35 during the measurement. Further analysis indicated that under dust episode, measured f(RH=80%) is 1.2&plusmn;0.02, and estimated periodic mean value of f(RH=80%) was 1.31&plusmn;0.03 under clean periods; during urban pollution periods, the aerosol displayed relative strong water absorbing properties with f(RH=80%) of about 1.57&plusmn;0.02. An examination of chemical composition of daily filter samples highlighted that aerosol hygroscopicity was generally depressed with the increasing ratio of organic matter (OMC)/ammonium sulfate (AS) in particle mass, similar with the results of many previous studies. However, a special case with high value of f(RH=80%)=2.21 and high OMC/AS ratio was also observed, this exception reflected physico-chemical particularities of organic matter and its complex interaction with other compounds during this episode

The health and economic burden of bloodstream infections caused by antimicrobial-susceptible and non-susceptible Enterobacteriaceae and <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> in European hospitals, 2010 and 2011:a multicentre retrospective cohort study

We performed a multicentre retrospective cohort study including 606,649 acute inpatient episodes at 10 European hospitals in 2010 and 2011 to estimate the impact of antimicrobial resistance on hospital mortality, excess length of stay (LOS) and cost. Bloodstream infections (BSI) caused by third-generation cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (3GCRE), meticillin-susceptible (MSSA) and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) increased the daily risk of hospital death (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 1.80; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.34-2.42, HR = 1.81; 95% CI: 1.49-2.20 and HR = 2.42; 95% CI: 1.66-3.51, respectively) and prolonged LOS (9.3 days; 95% CI: 9.2-9.4, 11.5 days; 95% CI: 11.5-11.6 and 13.3 days; 95% CI: 13.2-13.4, respectively). BSI with third-generation cephalosporin-susceptible Enterobacteriaceae (3GCSE) significantly increased LOS (5.9 days; 95% CI: 5.8-5.9) but not hazard of death (1.16; 95% CI: 0.98-1.36). 3GCRE significantly increased the hazard of death (1.63; 95% CI: 1.13-2.35), excess LOS (4.9 days; 95% CI: 1.1-8.7) and cost compared with susceptible strains, whereas meticillin resistance did not. The annual cost of 3GCRE BSI was higher than of MRSA BSI. While BSI with S. aureus had greater impact on mortality, excess LOS and cost than Enterobacteriaceae per infection, the impact of antimicrobial resistance was greater for Enterobacteriaceae

Malaria associated symptoms in pregnant women followed-up in Benin

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It is generally agreed that in high transmission areas, pregnant women have acquired a partial immunity to malaria and when infected they present few or no symptoms. However, longitudinal cohort studies investigating the clinical presentation of malaria infection in pregnant women in stable endemic areas are lacking, and the few studies exploring this issue are unconclusive.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A prospective cohort of women followed monthly during pregnancy was conducted in three rural dispensaries in Benin from August 2008 to September 2010. The presence of symptoms suggestive of malaria infection in 982 women during antenatal visits (ANV), unscheduled visits and delivery were analysed. A multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the association between symptoms and a positive thick blood smear (TBS).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During routine ANVs, headache was the only symptom associated with a higher risk of positive TBS (aOR = 1.9; p < 0.001). On the occasion of unscheduled visits, fever (aOR = 5.2; p < 0.001), headache (aOR = 2.1; p = 0.004) and shivering (aOR = 3.1; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with a malaria infection and almost 90% of infected women presented at least one of these symptoms. Two thirds of symptomatic malaria infections during unscheduled visits occurred in late pregnancy and long after the last intermittent preventive treatment dose (IPTp).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The majority of pregnant women were symptomless during routine visits when infected with malaria in an endemic stable area. The only suggestive sign of malaria (fever) was associated with malaria only on the occasion of unscheduled visits. The prevention of malaria in pregnancy could be improved by reassessing the design of IPTp, i.e. by determining an optimal number of doses and time of administration of anti-malarial drugs.</p

Efficacy of Infection Control Interventions in Reducing the Spread of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms in the Hospital Setting

Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) continue to spread in hospitals globally, but the population-level impact of recommended preventive strategies and the relative benefit of individual strategies targeting all MDRO in the hospital setting are unclear. To explore the dynamics of MDRO transmission in the hospital, we develop a model extending data from clinical individual-level studies to quantify the impact of hand hygiene, contact precautions, reducing antimicrobial exposure and screening surveillance cultures in decreasing the prevalence of MDRO colonization and infection. The effect of an ongoing increase in the influx of patients colonized with MDRO into the hospital setting is also quantified. We find that most recommended strategies have substantial effect in decreasing the prevalence of MDRO over time. However, screening for asymptomatic MDRO colonization among patients who are not receiving antimicrobials is of minimal value in reducing the spread of MDRO

Image based machine learning for identification of macrophage subsets

Macrophages play a crucial rule in orchestrating immune responses against pathogens and foreign materials. Macrophages have remarkable plasticity in response to environmental cues and are able to acquire a spectrum of activation status, best exemplified by pro-inflammatory (M1) and anti-inflammatory (M2) phenotypes at the two ends of the spectrum. Characterisation of M1 and M2 subsets is usually carried out by quantification of multiple cell surface markers, transcription factors and cytokine profiles. These approaches are time consuming, require large numbers of cells and are resource intensive. In this study, we used machine learning algorithms to develop a simple and fast imaging-based approach that enables automated identification of different macrophage functional phenotypes using their cell size and morphology. Fluorescent microscopy was used to assess cell morphology of different cell types which were stained for nucleus and actin distribution using DAPI and phalloidin respectively. By only analysing their morphology we were able to identify M1 and M2 phenotypes effectively and could distinguish them from naïve macrophages and monocytes with an average accuracy of 90%. Thus we suggest high-content and automated image analysis can be used for fast phenotyping of functionally diverse cell populations with reasonable accuracy and without the need for using multiple markers

Lipids modulate the conformational dynamics of a secondary multidrug transporter

Direct interactions with lipids have emerged as key determinants of the folding, structure and function of membrane proteins, but an understanding of how lipids modulate protein dynamics is still lacking. Here, we systematically explored the effects of lipids on the conformational dynamics of the proton-powered multidrug transporter LmrP from Lactococcus lactis, using the pattern of distances between spin-label pairs previously shown to report on alternating access of the protein. We uncovered, at the molecular level, how the lipid headgroups shape the conformational-energy landscape of the transporter. The model emerging from our data suggests a direct interaction between lipid headgroups and a conserved motif of charged residues that control the conformational equilibrium through an interplay of electrostatic interactions within the protein. Together, our data lay the foundation for a comprehensive model of secondary multidrug transport in lipid bilayers