Effects of density and hunger on the spatial distribution and pit construction behaviour of the antlion larvae (Myrmeleon spp.)

The antlion larvae are sessile predaceous larvae, which depend on active prey for their food. They dig conical pit in loose fine sand and remain at the bottom of their pits with their long piercing jaws from where they seize and remove the body fluids of the ant and other arthropods that slide into their trap. The effects of hunger and density on the spatial distribution and pit construction by the larvae were studied for the three instar stages in fine and coarse sand textures of particles size of <540 μm and <1200 μm respectively.Twenty four (24) Iron trays of 25cm2 each filled with sand to the depth of 20cm were used in the study.The result of the findings reveals that with the increase in density, there was an increased in spatial uniformity and the pits became uniformly distributed. The diameters of the pit were not statistically affected by the changes in the larval density. There was difference between the total number of pits constructed between sand textures and not between the larval instars, in addition, nearest neighbor distance decreases with increase in density and with no effect on pit diameter. Pit diameter increases with hunger level and Antlion move pit to reducedisturbances and to improve food supply. The result analysis showed significant differences in the mean number of pits constructed between densities, sand texture and larval instars at P< 0.01 but none between fed and larval instar.Keywords: Antlion, Construction, Density, Distribution, Hunger, Larvae, Pit

NOMA Visible Light Communication System with Angle Diversity Receivers

In this paper, a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) visible light communication (VLC) system is investigated. The system uses angle diversity receivers (ADRs) to provide high data rates. The ADR has 4 branches, each directed to a different direction. An 8m x 4m sized room is modelled to study the resource allocation to users according to their channel conditions to maximize the data rate. The results show that using ADRs improves the data rate by an average of 35% compared to a system using wide FOV receivers

Visible Light Optical Data Centre Links

Providing high data rates is one of the big concerns in visible light communication (VLC) systems. This paper introduces a data centre design that use a VLC system for downlink communication. In this work, RYGB laser diodes (LD) are used as transmitters to obtain a high modulation bandwidth. Three types of receivers, wide field of view receiver (WFOVR), 3 branches angle diversity receiver (ADR) and 50 pixels imaging receiver (ImR) are used to examine delay spread and SNR. The proposed system achieved data rates up to 14.2 Gbps using simple on-off-keying (OOK) modulation

WDM NOMA VLC Systems

Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) are employed in a visible light communication (VLC) system to increase the capacity of the system. The system is evaluated using two different scenarios focusing on power and data rate, where the first scenario is based on fair power allocation while the second scenario provides equal power allocation. Data rate variation is evaluated as a function of the users positioning and mobility. In both scenarios the proposed NOMA-WDM system achieved higher data rate NOMA system

Pemanfaatan Bahan Bakar Briket Bio Arang dari Limbah Pertanian pada Masyarakat di Kecamatan Galesong Selatan Kabupaten Takalar

Berdasarkan kondisi/karakteristik masyarakat di Desa Kadatong Kecamatan Galesong Selatan Kabupaten Takalar, maka permasalahan yang dihadapi antara lain: (1) Pendapatan perkapita masyarakat yang masih rendah, (2) Banyaknya limbah tongkol jagung yang tidak dimanfaatkan dan dapat merusak lingkungan sekitar, (3) Kebutuhan masyarakat terhadap bahan bakar alternatif untuk kebutuhan sehari-hari, dan (4) Rendahnya pengetahuan dan keterampilan masyarakat mengenai teknologi pemanfaatan limbah pertanian sebagai bahan bakar alternatif briket bioarang. Kegiatan Pengabdian pada Masyarakat yang dilakukan yaitu pemanfaatan bahan bakar alternatif briket bio arang dari limbah tongkol jagung, dengan melakukan sosialisasi dan pelatihan pembuatan briket bio arang serta pemanfaatannya untuk kebutuhan memasak rumah tangga. Metode yang digunakan antara lain metode ceramah, tanya jawab, demonstrasi dan praktek lapangan pada kelompok sasaran, selanjutnya dilakukan pendampingan dan bimbingan kepada kelompok sasaran hingga mampu membuat serta mendiseminasikan secara berantai pengetahuan dan keterampilannya pada kelompok sasaran lainnya dalam wilayah Kabupaten Takalar. Berdasarkan hasil kegiatan yang telah dilakukan, dapat disimpulkan bahwa: (1) terjadi peningkatan pengetahuan dan kesadaran masyarakat tentang pentingnya pemanfaatan bahan bakar alternatif yang ramah lingkungan salah satunya adalah briket bio arang dari limbah tongkol jagung, sehingga diharapkan lambat laun dapat merubah perilaku masyarakat untuk menggunakan bahan bakar alternatif selain BBM dan BBG, (2) peningkatan keterampilan masyarakat membuat briket bio arang dari limbah pertanian, dan (3) keuntungan ekonomi yang diperoleh masyarakat melalui pemanfaatan briket bio arang serta kemudahan mendapatkan bahan baku pembuatan briket menjadi salah satu faktor kunci untuk pemanfaatan briket bio arang. Kata Kunci : Briket Bio Arang, Limbah, Tongkol Jagun

Diabetes mellitus, microalbuminuria, and subclinical cardiac disease: Identification and monitoring of individuals at risk of heart failure

Background-Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and elevated urinary albumin:creatinine ratio (ACR) have increased risk of heart failure. We hypothesized this was because of cardiac tissue changes rather than silent coronary artery disease. Methods and Results-In a case-controlled observational study 130 subjects including 50 ACR+ve diabetes mellitus patients with persistent microalbuminuria (ACR > 2.5 mg/mol in males and > 3.5 mg/mol in females, ≥2 measurements, no previous renin- angiotensin-aldosterone therapy, 50 ACR-ve diabetes mellitus patients and 30 controls underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance for investigation of myocardial fibrosis, ischemia and infarction, and echocardiography. Thirty ACR+ve patients underwent further testing after 1-year treatment with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone blockade. Cardiac extracellular volume fraction, a measure of diffuse fibrosis, was higher in diabetes mellitus patients than controls (26.1±3.4% and 23.3±3.0% P=0.0002) and in ACR+ve than ACR-ve diabetes mellitus patients (27.2±4.1% versus 25.1±2.9%, P=0.004). ACR+ve patients also had lower E0 measured by echocardiography (8.2±1.9 cm/s versus 8.9±1.9 cm/s, P=0.04) and elevated high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T 18% versus 4% ≥14 ng/L (P=0.05). Rate of silent myocardial ischemia or infarction were not influenced by ACR status. Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone blockade was associated with increased left ventricular ejection fraction (59.3±7.8 to 61.5±8.7%, P=0.03) and decreased extracellular volume fraction (26.5±3.6 to 25.2±3.1, P=0.01) but no changes in diastolic function or high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T levels. Conclusions-Asymptomatic diabetes mellitus patients with persistent microalbuminuria have markers of diffuse cardiac fibrosis including elevated extracellular volume fraction, high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T, and diastolic dysfunction, which may in part be reversible by renin-angiotensin-aldosterone blockade. Increased risk in these patients may be mediated by subclinical changes in tissue structure and function

Chlamydia and Vaginitis in Sexually Active Females: Classical Identification Methods for Effective Control

Laboratory diagnosis of Chlamydia and vaginitis in sexually active females has been limited by unavailability of a sequential method/rapid technique for simple diagnosis. Six hundred (600) adult females from hotel/brothel, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) Clinic, Obstetrics/Gynaecology Clinic, Family Planning Clinic and Healthy controls were investigated for Chlamydia, Candida, trichomoniasis and bacterial vaginosis (BV). This was done using microscopy: wet mount, stained vaginal secretion and stained smear after culture. Results showed that there were 72% infections in the female groups. The brothel and STI group had infection in the range (70-86%). Chlamydial infection was highest in the STI group while Candida infection was highest in the healthy (control) females. Bacterial vaginosis was distributed in all groups. As p-value increased, f-value increased indicating constant co-infection of Candida and BV in Chlamydia positive females. Microscopy by direct detection from sample and stained smear after culture were in the range: 56-86%. Direct microscopy for BV was 78.5% and stained smear after culture, 57.1%. Sensitivity and specificity of the techniques showed that detection of Chlamydia was less sensitive by direct microscopy of sample but sensitivity and specificity of stained smear after culture were high. Immunoassay (32.2%) was also less sensitive. Sensitivity and specificity of wet mount microscopy for Candida, Trichomoniasis and BV were in the range 62.5 – 80% and 62.5-97.8% respectively. Wet mount has high sensitivity and specificity for detecting agents of vaginitis and may be useful for routine use and for diagnosis where disease is absent, thus, making identification more cost effective

Comparison of diagnostic tests for the detection of Brucella spp. in camel sera

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Brucellosis in livestock causes enormous losses for economies of developing countries and poses a severe health risk to consumers of dairy products. Little information is known especially on camel brucellosis and its impact on human health. For surveillance and control of the disease, sensitive and reliable detection methods are needed. Although serological tests are the mainstay of diagnosis in camel brucellosis, these tests have been directly transposed from cattle without adequate validation. To date, little information on application of real-time PCR for detection of <it>Brucella </it>in camel serum is available. Therefore, this study was performed to compare the diagnostic efficiency of different serological tests and real-time PCR in order to identify the most sensitive, rapid and simple combination of tests for detecting <it>Brucella </it>infection in camels.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>A total of 895 serum samples collected from apparently healthy Sudanese camels was investigated. Sudan is a well documented endemic region for brucellosis with cases in humans, ruminants, and camels. Rose Bengal Test (RBT), Complement Fixation Test (CFT), Slow Agglutination Test (SAT), Competitive Enzyme Linked Immunosorbant Assay (cELISA) and Fluorescence Polarization Assay (FPA) as well as real-time PCR were used. Our findings revealed that <it>bcsp31 </it>kDa real-time PCR detected <it>Brucella </it>DNA in 84.8% (759/895) of the examined samples, of which 15.5% (118/759) were serologically negative. Our results show no relevant difference in sensitivity between the different serological tests. FPA detected the highest number of positive cases (79.3%) followed by CFT (71.4%), RBT (70.7%), SAT (70.6%) and cELISA (68.8%). A combination of real-time PCR with one of the used serological tests identified brucellosis in more than 99% of the infected animals. 59.7% of the examined samples were positive in all serological tests and real-time PCR. A subpopulation of 6.8% of animals was positive in all serological tests but negative in real-time PCR assays. The high percentage of positive cases in this study does not necessarily reflect the seroprevalence of the disease in the country but might be caused by the fact that the camels were imported from brucellosis infected herds of Sudan, accidentally. Seroprevalence of brucellosis in camels should be examined in confirmatory studies to evaluate the importance of brucellosis in this animal species.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We suggest combining <it>bcsp31 </it>real-time PCR with either FPA, CFT, RBT or SAT to screen camels for brucellosis.</p

Field Testing of Different Chemical Combinations as Odour Baits for Trapping Wild Mosquitoes in The Gambia

Odour baited traps have potential use in population surveillance of insect vectors of disease, and in some cases for vector population reduction. Established attractants for human host-seeking mosquitoes include a combination of CO2 with L-lactic acid and ammonia, on top of which additional candidate compounds are being tested. In this field study in rural Gambia, using Latin square experiments with thorough randomization and replication, we tested nine different leading candidate combinations of chemical odorants for attractiveness to wild mosquitoes including anthropophilic malaria vectors, using modified Mosquito Magnet-X (MM-X) counterflow traps outside experimental huts containing male human sleepers. Highest catches of female mosquitoes, particularly of An. gambiae s.l. and Mansonia species, were obtained by incorporation of tetradecanoic acid. As additional carboxylic acids did not increase the trap catches further, this ‘reference blend’ (tetradecanoic acid with L-lactic acid, ammonia and CO2) was used in subsequent experiments. MM-X traps with this blend caught similar numbers of An. gambiae s.l. and slightly more Mansonia and Culex mosquitoes than a standard CDC light trap, and these numbers were not significantly affected by the presence or absence of human sleepers in the huts. Experiments with CO2 produced from overnight yeast cultures showed that this organic source was effective in enabling trap attractiveness for all mosquito species, although at a slightly lower efficiency than obtained with use of CO2 gas cylinders. Although further studies are needed to discover additional chemicals that increase attractiveness, as well as to optimise trap design and CO2 source for broader practical use, the odour-baited traps described here are safe and effective for sampling host-seeking mosquitoes outdoors and can be incorporated into studies of malaria vector ecology

Concomitant malaria among visceral leishmaniasis in-patients from Gedarif and Sennar States, Sudan: a retrospective case-control study

In areas where visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and malaria are co-endemic, co-infections are common. Clinical implications range from potential diagnostic delay to increased disease-related morbidity, as compared to VL patients. Nevertheless, public awareness of the disease remains limited. In VL-endemic areas with unstable and seasonal malaria, vulnerability to the disease persists through all age-groups, suggesting that in these populations, malaria may easily co-occur with VL, with potentially severe clinical effects