Isolation of Plant Hormone (Indole-3-Acetic Acid - IAA) Producing Rhizobacteria and Study on Their Effects on Maize Seedling

18 rhizobacteria were isolated from various rhizospheric soils in Mandalay region, Myanmar and some of their biochemical characteristics were studied. Among them, 4 isolates belonged to Bacillus spp. and another 5 strains were recognized as Serratia spp. All 18 isolates were screened for indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production and quantitative determination of IAA was done for all strains by UV-Vis spectrophotometer with 2 days interval during 10 days incubation. All isolates had different optimum IAA production periods and strain R1 was the best IAA producer strain with 121.1 ppm. It was observed that Bacillus spp. produced IAA ranging from 53.1 ppm to 71.1 ppm optimally and Serratia spp. can be regarded as poor IAA producer strains. Among these 18 strains, four of the best IAA producers (R1, R3, R5, R8) were selected for further study on maize plant and their activities of nitrogen fixation were also detected by plate screening method. Seed germination rate was studied with eight types of treatment and the treatment systems with isolates cannot show distinct positive effect on seed germination rate. At 20th day after sowing, dry root weight and fresh root weight, root length, number of adventitious roots, dry shoot weight and fresh shoot weight and shoot height were measured. In pot trial experiment, treatment R1 significantly increased the fresh shoot weight, shoot height and dry shoot weight whereas treatment R3 significantly increased fresh root weight, root length, dry root weight and number of adventitious roots and all treatments with bacterial isolates showed plant growth promotion than the control systems

EFFECT OF WASHING ON DELTAMETHRIN CONCENTRATION AND BIO-EFFICACY OF INSECTICIDE-TREATED MOSQUITO NETS

The deltamethrin impregnated mosquito nets not only prevent but also control malaria, dengue fever and other vector-bone diseases. However, the deltamethrin concentration and bio-efficacy of mosquito nets can reduce due to washing. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of washing on deltamethrin concentration and bio-efficacy of military insecticide-treated mosquito nets. High Performance Liquid Chromatography method was used for the determination of deltamethrin in mosquito-nets. Then, the WHO recommended cone and excito-chamber methods were used to determine the bio-efficacy of mosquito nets. The deltamethrin concentrations in the mosquito-net were after no wash (4590±58.54 ppm), 1× wash (4020±47.39 ppm), 2× wash (3225±45.22 ppm), 3× wash (2771±107.5 ppm), 4× wash (2657±58.59 ppm), 5× wash (1835±47.55 ppm), 10× wash (957±34.85 ppm), 15× wash (197±22.54 ppm) and 20× wash (87±23.75 ppm). The mosquito knockdown effects were reduced by washing of net (no wash to 20× wash) after 60 minutes and 6 hours exposure range from 90-40% and 100-70%. The mosquito mortality rate was reduced by washing of net (no wash to 20× wash) after 24 hours exposure were reduced range from 100-80%. The mosquito repellent action was reduced by washing of net (no wash to 20× wash) after 10 minutes and 24 hours exposure, range from 90-30% and 100-60%. The effective bio-efficacy level was found in 5×wash (1835±47.55 ppm of deltamethrin).Therefore, mosquito net should be impregnated again after the 5× wash to obtain the best protection on the public from mosquito bite

Evaluation of physicochemical characteristics and genetic diversity of widely consumed rice varieties in Kyaukse area, Myanmar

Consumer preferences are greatly influenced by eating and cooking qualities of rice grains, along with the economic value of a specific rice variety. This study was to evaluate ten rice varieties including the check variety IR64 on their physicochemical, cooking and eating qualities as well as to identify their genetic diversity using SSR markers. Most rice varieties are medium-grain types based on length-breadth ratio, whereas the famous Myanmar rice variety, Paw San Bay Kyar, (PSBK) is bold. PSBK showed the best cooking and eating quality traits with intermediate amylose content (AC), intermediate gelatinization temperature (GT), soft gel consistency (GC), and the highest elongation ratio among the studied rice varieties. Seventeen SSR markers linked with cooking and eating traits were used to assess the extent of polymorphism and genetic variation among ten rice varieties. There were 49 alleles in total, with an average of 2.88 alleles per locus. RM592 had the maximum number of alleles. The average PIC value ranged from 0.22 (RM540) to 0.77 (RM592). Cluster analysis with UPGMA method based on Jaccard’s similarity coefficient divided ten rice varieties into two main groups and four sub-clusters. In multiple regression analysis, RM190 and Wx primers were discovered to be significantly associated with AC, GC and GT of cooking and eating quality traits. This study could contribute to the choice of rice varieties with superior cooking and eating qualities for rice breeding programs by implementing physicochemical characteristics and molecular analysis

Development of Natural Language Processing based Communication and Educational Assisted Systems for the People with Hearing Disability in Myanmar

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide people with disabilities to better integrate socially and economically into their communities by supporting access to information and knowledge, learning and teaching situations, personal communication and interaction. Our research purpose is to develop systems that will provide communication and educational assistance to persons with hearing disability using Natural Language Processing (NLP). In this paper, we present corpus building for Myanmar sign language (MSL), Machine Translation (MT) between MSL, Myanmar written text (MWT) and Myanmar SignWriting (MSW) and two Fingerspelling keyboard layouts for Myanmar SignWriting. We believe that the outcome of this research is useful for educational contents and communication between hearing disability and general people

Statistical Machine Translation between Myanmar Sign Language and Myanmar Written Text

This paper contributes the first evaluation of the quality of automatic translation between Myanmar sign language (MSL) and Myanmar written text, in both directions. Our developing MSL-Myanmar parallel corpus was used for translations and the experiments were carried out using three different statistical machine translation (SMT) approaches: phrase-based, hierarchical phrase-based, and the operation sequence model. In addition, three different segmentation schemes were studies, these were syllable segmentation, word segmentation and sign unit based word segmentation. The results show that the highest quality machine translation was attained with syllable segmentations for both MSL and Myanmar written text

Spatial distribution, work patterns, and perception towards malaria interventions among temporary mobile/migrant workers in artemisinin resistance containment zone

BACKGROUND: Mobile populations are at a high risk of malaria infection and suspected to carry and spread resistant parasites. The Myanmar National Malaria Control Programme focuses on preventive interventions and vector control measures for the temporary mobile/migrant workers in Myanmar Artemisinin Resistance Containment Zones. METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in 2012 in Kawthaung and Bokepyin townships of Tanintharyi Region, Myanmar, covering 192 mobile/migrant aggregates. The objectives were to identify the spatial distribution of the mobile/migrant populations, and to assess knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and practices concerning malaria prevention and control, and their preferred methods of interventions. The structure of the192 migrant aggregates was investigated using a migrant mapping tool. Individual and household information was collected by structured interviews of 408 respondents from 39 aggregates, supplemented by 12 in-depth interviews of health care providers, authorities, volunteers, and employers. Data were analyzed by triangulating quantitative and qualitative data. RESULTS: The primary reasons for the limitation in access to formal health services for suspected malaria within 24 hours were identified to be scattered distribution of migrant aggregates, variable working hours and the lack of transportation. Only 19.6% of respondents reported working at night from dusk to dawn. Among study populations, 73% reported a perceived risk of contracting malaria and 60% reported to know how to confirm a suspected case of malaria. Moreover, only 15% was able to cite correct antimalarial drugs, and less than 10% believed that non-compliance with antimalarial treatment may be related to the risk of drug resistance. About 50% of study population reported to seeking health care from the public sector, and to sleep under ITNs/LLINs the night before the survey. There was a gap in willingness to buy ITNs/LLINs and affordability (88.5% vs. 60.2%) which may affect their sustained and consistent use. Only 32.4% across all aggregates realized the importance of community participation in effective malaria prevention and control. CONCLUSIONS: Community-based innovative approaches through strong collaboration and coordination of multi-stakeholders are desirable for relaying information on ITNs/LLINs, rapid diagnostic test, and artemisinin combination therapy and drug resistance successfully across the social and economic diversity of mobile/migrant aggregates in Myanmar

FLIBANSERIN: A Happy Ending Solution to Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) is a persistent or recurrent deficiency or absence of sexual desire. It can cause prominent distress and interpersonal difficulty of women. There have been drugs available to treat sexual disorders in men when there is no such drug for women. Nowadays, FDA approved Flibanserin to treat HSDD of premenopausal women. This drug Flibanserin has no novel mechanism of action but the possible mechanism of action is modulating serotonin and dopamine activity in brain parts as balance of these systems is significance for a normal sexual response. Keywords: Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder, Premenopausal women, FlibanserinÂ

The emergence and diversification of a zoonotic pathogen from within the microbiota of intensively farmed pigs

The expansion and intensification of livestock production is predicted to promote the emergence of pathogens. As pathogens sometimes jump between species, this can affect the health of humans as well as livestock. Here, we investigate how livestock microbiota can act as a source of these emerging pathogens through analysis of Streptococcus suis, a ubiquitous component of the respiratory microbiota of pigs that is also a major cause of disease on pig farms and an important zoonotic pathogen. Combining molecular dating, phylogeography, and comparative genomic analyses of a large collection of isolates, we find that several pathogenic lineages of S. suis emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries, during an early period of growth in pig farming. These lineages have since spread between countries and continents, mirroring trade in live pigs. They are distinguished by the presence of three genomic islands with putative roles in metabolism and cell adhesion, and an ongoing reduction in genome size, which may reflect their recent shift to a more pathogenic ecology. Reconstructions of the evolutionary histories of these islands reveal constraints on pathogen emergence that could inform control strategies, with pathogenic lineages consistently emerging from one subpopulation of S. suis and acquiring genes through horizontal transfer from other pathogenic lineages. These results shed light on the capacity of the microbiota to rapidly evolve to exploit changes in their host population and suggest that the impact of changes in farming on the pathogenicity and zoonotic potential of S. suis is yet to be fully realized

The emergence and diversification of a zoonotic pathogen from within the microbiota of intensively farmed pigs

The expansion and intensification of livestock production is predicted to promote the emergence of pathogens. As pathogens sometimes jump between species, this can affect the health of humans as well as livestock. Here, we investigate how livestock microbiota can act as a source of these emerging pathogens through analysis of Streptococcus suis, a ubiquitous component of the respiratory microbiota of pigs that is also a major cause of disease on pig farms and an important zoonotic pathogen. Combining molecular dating, phylogeography, and comparative genomic analyses of a large collection of isolates, we find that several pathogenic lineages of S. suis emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries, during an early period of growth in pig farming. These lineages have since spread between countries and continents, mirroring trade in live pigs. They are distinguished by the presence of three genomic islands with putative roles in metabolism and cell adhesion, and an ongoing reduction in genome size, which may reflect their recent shift to a more pathogenic ecology. Reconstructions of the evolutionary histories of these islands reveal constraints on pathogen emergence that could inform control strategies, with pathogenic lineages consistently emerging from one subpopulation of S. suis and acquiring genes through horizontal transfer from other pathogenic lineages. These results shed light on the capacity of the microbiota to rapidly evolve to exploit changes in their host population and suggest that the impact of changes in farming on the pathogenicity and zoonotic potential of S. suis is yet to be fully realized.This work was primarily funded by an EU Horizon 2020 grant “PIGSs” (727966) and a ZELS BBSRC award “Myanmar Pigs Partnership (MPP)” (BB/L018934/1). G.G.R.M., E.L.M., and L.A.W. were supported by a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship to L.A.W. jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society (109385/Z/15/Z). N.H. was supported by a Challenge grant from the Royal Society (CH16011) and an Isaac Newton Trust Research Grant [17.24(u)]. G.G.R.M. was also supported by a Research Fellowship at Newnham College. S.B. is supported by the Medical Research Council (MR/V032836/1). PIC North America provided part of the funds for the sequencing of the isolates from the USA. A.J.B. and M.M. were funded by Medical Research Council and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council studentships respectively, and M.M. was co-funded by the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Fund. We would like to acknowledge Susanna Williamson at the APHA for providing samples, Oscar Cabezón for sampling of the wild boar population in Spain, Mark O’Dea for access to sequence data from Australian isolates, the PIGSs and MPP consortiums for providing samples and helpful discussions, Julian Parkhill and John Welch for helpful discussions, and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions for improving the manuscript. This research was funded in whole or in part by the Wellcome Trust. For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a CC BY public copyright license to any Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) version arising from this submission.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio