Circadian rhythms in insecticide susceptibility, metabolic enzyme activity, and gene expression in Cimex lectularius (Hemiptera: Cimicidae).

Many insect species display daily variation of sensitivity to insecticides when they are exposed to the same concentration at different times during the day. To date, this has not been investigated in bed bugs. To address this, we explored circadian rhythms in insecticide susceptibility, xenobiotic metabolizing (XM) gene expressions, and metabolic detoxification in the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius. An insecticide susceptible Monheim strain of C. lectularius was most tolerant of deltamethrin during the late photophase at ZT9 (i.e. nine hours after light is present in the light-dark cycle (LD) cycle) and similarly repeated at CT9 (i.e. nine hours into the subjective day in constant darkness (DD)) suggesting endogenous circadian involvement in susceptibility to deltamethrin. No diel rhythm was observed against imidacloprid insecticide despite significant daily susceptibility in both LD and DD conditions. Rhythmic expressions of metabolic detoxification genes, GSTs1 and CYP397A1 displayed similar expression patterns with total GST and P450 enzyme activities in LD and DD conditions, respectively. The oscillation of mRNA levels of GSTs1 and CYP397A1 was found consistent with peak phases of deltamethrin susceptibility in C. lectularius. This study demonstrates that circadian patterns of metabolic detoxification gene expression occur within C. lectularius. As a consequence, insecticide efficacy can vary dramatically throughout a 24 hour period

Influence of hydrochloric acid volume on the growth of titanium dioxide (tio2) nanostructures by hydrothermal method

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) with various morphologies has been successfully synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method at 150oC for 10 h using titanium butoxide (TBOT) as a precursor, deionized (DI) water and hydrochloric acid (HCl) on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate. The influences of HCl volume on structural and morphological properties of TiO2 have been studied using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), respectively. The result showed that several morphologies such as microsphere, microrods, nanorods and nanoflowers were obtained by varying the volume of hydrochloric acid. The crystallinity of titanium dioxide enhanced with the increasing of hydrochloric acid volume

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Genetic Variation Of Hypolimnas Bolina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) From Urban And Forested Areas In Western Sarawak

Hypolimnas bolina is butterfly from family Nymphalidae which is widely distributed at urban and forested area. The objectives of this study are to establish DNA protocol of insects, to test the effectiveness of partial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COi) on detection of insects variation at population level and to examine whether there are genetic variations among H. bolina between population in urban and forested area by using partial mitochondrial DNA COi. Genetic diversity and nucleotide diversity was estimated by using DNASP 4.0. A minimum-spanning network (MSN) was generated by using Network 4.5.0.2 to reveal haplotype network relationship of H. bolina between urban and forested area. There are no genetic variations between forested and urban area. This might suggest the gene is not a good genetic marker at population level or it might indicate recent invasion population. It is recommended to use whole genome mtDNA of COi for further analysis and use other genetic marker such as control region marker

Daily Rhythms In Insecticide Susceptibility, Metabolic Enzyme Activity And Gene Expression In The Common Bed Bug, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)

The continuous usage of insecticides inadvertently leads to the development of insecticide resistance among insect pests including bed bugs. Several genes encoding enzymes known to metabolize insecticide such as Cytochrome P450, Glutathione S-tranferase (GST) and esterase are found to have daily rhythm in some insects such as mosquitoes, flies and cockroaches. To date, this information remains unclear in bed bugs. An improved understanding of bed bug chronotoxicity will yield insights into developing novel control strategies for this medically important pest species. To this extend, we explored daily rhythm in insecticide susceptibility of the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius

Forensic analysis of offline signature using multi-layer perception and random forest

Forensic applications having great importance in the digital era, for the investigation of different types of crimes. The forensic analysis includes Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) test, crime scene video and images,, forged documents analysis, computer-based data recovery, fingerprint identifications, handwritten signature verification and facial recognition. The signatures are divided into two types i.e. genuine and forgery. The forgery signature can lead to the huge amount of financial losses and create other legal issues as well. The process of forensic investigation for the verification of genune signature and detection of forgery signature in law related departements has been manula and the same can be automated using digital image processing techniques, and automated forensic signature verificatiob applications. The signatures represent any person's authority to the forged signature may also be used in a crime. Research has been done to automate the forensic investigation process, but due to the internal verification of signatures, the automation of signature verification still remains a challenging problem for researchers. In this paper, we have further extended previous research carried out in [1-2] and proposed a Forensic signature verification model based on two classifiers i.e. Multi-layer Perception (MLP) and Random Forest for the classification of genuine and forgery signatures

Performance of Rapid Antigen Tests for COVID-19 Diagnosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The identification of viral RNA using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is the gold standard for identifying an infection caused by SARS-CoV-2. The limitations of RT-qPCR such as requirement of expensive instruments, trained staff and laboratory facilities led to development of rapid antigen tests (RATs). The performance of RATs has been widely evaluated and found to be varied in different settings. The present systematic review aims to evaluate the pooled sensitivity and specificity of the commercially available RATs. This review was registered on PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42021278105). Literature search was performed through PubMed, Embase and Cochrane COVID-19 Study Register to search studies published up to 26 August 2021. The overall pooled sensitivity and specificity of RATs and subgroup analyses were calculated. Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QUADAS-2) was used to assess the risk of bias in each study. The overall pooled sensitivity and specificity of RATs were 70% (95% CI: 69&ndash;71) and 98% (95% CI: 98&ndash;98), respectively. In subgroup analyses, nasal swabs showed the highest sensitivity of 83% (95% CI: 80&ndash;86) followed by nasopharyngeal swabs 71% (95% CI: 70&ndash;72), throat swabs 69% (95% CI: 63&ndash;75) and saliva 68% (95% CI: 59&ndash;77). Samples from symptomatic patients showed a higher sensitivity of 82% (95% CI: 82&ndash;82) as compared to asymptomatic patients at 68% (95% CI: 65&ndash;71), while a cycle threshold (Ct) value &le;25 showed a higher sensitivity of 96% (95% CI: 95&ndash;97) as compared to higher Ct value. Although the sensitivity of RATs needs to be enhanced, it may still be a viable option in places where laboratory facilities are lacking for diagnostic purposes in the early phase of disease

Performance of Immunodiagnostic Tests for Typhoid Fever: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a life-threatening bacterial infection that remains a global health concern. The infection is associated with a significant morbidity and mortality rate, resulting in an urgent need for specific and rapid detection tests to aid prevention and management of the disease. The present review aims to assess the specificity and sensitivity of the available literature on the immunodiagnostics of typhoid fever. A literature search was conducted using three databases (PubMed, ProQuest and Scopus) and manual searches through the references of identified full texts to retrieve relevant literature published between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2020. Of the 577 studies identified in our search, 12 were included in further analysis. Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and hemolysin E (HlyE) were the most frequently studied antigens. The specimens examined in these studies included serum and saliva. Using blood culture as the gold standard, anti-LPS IgA gave the highest sensitivity of 96% (95% CI: 93–99) and specificity of 96% (95% CI: 93–99) for distinguishing between typhoid cases and healthy controls, whereas the combination of anti-LPS and anti-flagellin total IgGAM gave the highest sensitivity of 93% (95% CI: 86–99) and specificity of 95% (95% CI: 89–100) for distinguishing typhoid cases and other febrile infections. A comparably high sensitivity of 92% (95% CI: 86–98) and specificity of 89% (95% CI: 78–100) were shown in testing based on detection of the combination of anti-LPS (IgA and IgM) and anti-HlyE IgG as well as a slightly lower sensitivity of 91% (95% CI: 74–100) in the case of anti-50kDa IgA. Anti-50kDa IgM had the lowest sensitivity of 36% (95% CI: 6–65) against both healthy and febrile controls. The development of a rapid diagnostic test targeting antibodies against lipopolysaccharides combined with flagellin appeared to be a suitable approach for the rapid detection test of typhoid fever. Saliva is added benefit for rapid typhoid diagnosis since it is less invasive. As a result, further studies could be done to develop additional approaches for adopting such samples