Evidence of a multiple insecticide resistance in the malaria vector Anopheles funestus in South West Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Knowing the extent and spread of insecticide resistance in malaria vectors is vital to successfully manage insecticide resistance in Africa. This information in the main malaria vector, Anopheles funestus sensu stricto, is completely lacking in the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria. This study reports the insecticide susceptibility status and the molecular basis of resistance of An. funestus as well as its involvement in malaria transmission in Akaka-Remo, a farm settlement village in southwest Nigeria. RESULTS: Plasmodium infection analysis using TaqMan protocol coupled with a nested PCR revealed an infection rate of 8% in An. funestus s.s. from Akaka-Remo. WHO susceptibility tests showed this species has developed multiple resistance to insecticides in the study area. Anopheles funestus s.s. population in Akaka-Remo is highly resistant to organochlorines: dieldrin (8%) and DDT (10%). Resistance was also observed against pyrethroids: permethrin (68%) and deltamethrin (87%), and the carbamate bendiocarb (84%). Mortality rate with DDT slightly increased (from 10 to 30%, n = 45) after PBO pre-exposure indicating that cytochrome P450s play little role in DDT resistance while high mortalities were recorded after PBO pre-exposure with permethrin (from 68 to 100%, n = 70) and dieldrin (from 8 to 100%, n = 48) suggesting the implication of P450s in the observed permethrin and dieldrin resistance. High frequencies of resistant allele, 119F in F0 (77%) and F1 (80% in resistant and 72% in susceptible) populations with an odd ratio of 1.56 (P = 0.1859) show that L119F-GSTe2 mutation is almost fixed in the population. Genotyping of the A296S-RDL mutation in both F0 and F1 samples shows an association with dieldrin resistance with an odd ratio of 81 (P < 0.0001) (allelic frequency (R) = 76% for F0; for F1, 90 and 10% were observed in resistant and susceptible populations, respectively) as this mutation is not yet fixed in the population. CONCLUSION: The study reports multiple insecticide resistance in An. funestus from Akaka Remo. It is, therefore, necessary to pay more attention to this major malaria vector for effective malaria control in Nigeria

Serological Survey of Pigs From a Slaughterhouse in Jakarta, Indonesia

Maksud dan tujuan dari survey ini ialah untuk mempelajari akan kemungkinannya he­wan-hewan babi memegang peranan sebagai reservoir ataupun amplifier dari penyakit-penyakit zoonotic di Pulau Jawa. Survey ini di­jalankan bersama-sama dengan Namru-2 di Jakarta. Sebagian besar specimens yang berupa darah, berasal dari babi babi yang akan dipotong dirumah pemotongan hewan babi di Jakarta Barat, babi-babi tersebut ada yang berasal dari Jawa Tengah, Jawa Barat, serta sebagian lagi berasal dari babi-babi milik rakyat di daerah Kapok. Pengambilan specimens dilakukan sehari sebelum babi-babi tadi dipotong. Setiap pagi lebih kurang 150 ekor babi dipotong, dimana umurnya berkisar antara enam hingga 24 bulan. Pada survey ini telah dikumpulkan 399 specimens, sebanyak 227 specimens berasal dari babi-babi betina, 159 specimens berasal dari babi-babi jantan, serta 13 specimens berasal dari babi-babi jantan kebiri. Hasil Pemeriksaan Laboratorium. Pemeriksaan terhadap Toxoplasma. Dari 166 sera yang berasal dari babi-babi Jawa Barat sebanyak 46 (28 percent) me-nunjukan hasil positif (titer 1 : 8 atau lebih j Sedangkan 235 sera berasal dari babi-babi Jawa Tengah , hany a sebanyak 17(7percent yang menunjukan hasil positif (titer 1 : 8). Titer yang lebih tinggi (1 : 1024) juga di­temukan pada babi-babi yang berasal dari Jawa Barat.Pemeriksaan terhadap Brucella suis. Titer 1 : 320 masih diketemukan pada semua group, akan tetapi sebagian besar serum me­nunjukan hasil negatip. Sebagian kecil sera yang berasal dari babi-babi tua dari Jawa-Barat menunjukan adanya anti­body yang lebih tinggi dari pada babi-babi muda.Pemeriksaan terhadap penyakit Japanese Encephalitis. Pada semua golongan umur dari geographical-group dari babi-babi menunjuk­an adanya anti-body terhadap J.E. Sera yang negatip lebih banyak berasal dari babi-babi Jawa Tengah.Pemeriksaan terhadap penyakit Influenza. Titer yang menyolok terhadap penyakit Influenza A2 Hongkong terdapat pada babi-babi golongan muda maupun tua baik yang berasal dari Jawa Tengah maupun yang ber­asal dari Jawa-Barat. Meskipun demikian, babi-babi dari Jawa Barat lebih banyak menunjukan hasil yang positip dari pada berasal dari Jawa Tengah.Pemeriksaan terhadap Leptospira. Kebanyakan serum menunjukan adanya anti-body terhadap L. sentot L. pomona dan L. bangkinang. Sebagian besar serum yang positip berasal dari babi-babi Jawa Tengah

Physiologically relevant culture medium Plasmax improves human placental trophoblast stem cell function

Human trophoblast cultures provide powerful tools to model key processes of placental development. In vitro trophoblast studies to date have relied on commercial media which contains non-physiological levels of nutrients, and the impact of these conditions on trophoblast metabolism and function is unknown. Here we show that the physiological medium (Plasmaxä) with nutrient and metabolite concentrations recapitulating human plasma improves human trophoblast stem cell (hTSC) proliferation and differentiation compared to standard medium (DMEM-F12). hTSCs cultured in Plasmax-based medium also show altered glycolytic and mitochondrial metabolism, as well as reduced S-adenosylmethionine/S-adenosyl-homosysteine ratio compared to DMEM-F12-based medium. These findings demonstrate the importance of the nutritional environment for phenotyping cultured human trophoblasts

Machine learning for determining lateral flow device results for testing of SARS-CoV-2 infection in asymptomatic populations

Rapid antigen tests, in the form of lateral flow devices (LFD) allow testing of a large population for SARS-CoV-2. To reduce the variability seen in device interpretation, we show the design and testing of an AI algorithm based on machine learning. The machine learning (ML) algorithm is trained on a combination of artificially hybridised LFDs and LFD data linked to RT-qPCR result. Participants are recruited from assisted test sites (ATS) and health care workers undertaking self-testing and images analysed using the ML algorithm. A panel of trained clinicians are used to resolve discrepancies. In total, 115,316 images are returned. In the ATS sub study, sensitivity increased from 92.08% to 97.6% and specificity from 99.85% to 99.99%. In the self-read sub-study, sensitivity increased from 16.00% to 100%, and specificity from 99.15% to 99.40%. An ML-based classifier of LFD results outperforms human reads in asymptomatic testing sites and self-reading

Synchronous diversification of Sulawesi's iconic artiodactyls driven by recent geological events

The high degree of endemism on Sulawesi has previously been suggested to have vicariant origins, dating back to 40 Ma. Recent studies, however, suggest that much of Sulawesi’s fauna assembled over the last 15 Myr. Here, we test the hypothesis that more recent uplift of previously submerged portions of land on Sulawesi promoted diversification and that much of its faunal assemblage is much younger than the island itself. To do so, we combined palaeogeographical reconstructionswithgenetic andmorphometric datasets derived from Sulawesi’s three largest mammals: the babirusa, anoa and Sulawesi warty pig. Our results indicate that although these species most likely colonized the area that is now Sulawesi at different times (14 Ma to 2-3 Ma), they experienced an almost synchronous expansion from the central part of the island. Geological reconstructions indicate that this area was above sea level for most of the last 4 Myr, unlike most parts of the island. We conclude that emergence of land on Sulawesi (approx. 1-2 Myr) may have allowed species to expand synchronously. Altogether, our results indicate that the establishment of the highly endemic faunal assemblage on Sulawesiwas driven by geological events over the last few million years

A Historiometric Examination of Machiavellianism and a New Taxonomy of Leadership

Although researchers have extensively examined the relationship between charismatic leadership and Machiavellianism (Deluga, 2001; Gardner & Avolio, 1995; House & Howell, 1992), there has been a lack of investigation of Machiavellianism in relation to alternative forms of outstanding leadership. Thus, the purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationship between Machiavellianism and a new taxonomy of outstanding leadership comprised of charismatic, ideological, and pragmatic leaders. Using an historiometric approach, raters assessed Machiavellianism via the communications of 120 outstanding leaders in organizations across the domains of business, political, military, and religious institutions. Academic biographies were used to assess twelve general performance measures as well as twelve general controls and five communication specific controls. The results indicated that differing levels of Machiavellianism is evidenced across the differing leader types as well as differing leader orientation. Additionally, Machiavellianism appears negatively related to performance, though less so when type and orientation are taken into account.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline