To Bt or Not to Bt? Balancing Spatial Genetic Heterogeneity to Control the Evolution of Ostrinia nubilalis

24 pages, 1 article*To Bt or Not to Bt? Balancing Spatial Genetic Heterogeneity to Control the Evolution of Ostrinia nubilalis* (Miller, Conrad; Munoz, Andres; Pena, Fernando; Rael, Rosalyn; Yakubu, Abdul-Aziz) 24 page

Bitter gourd reduces elevated fasting plasma glucose levels in an intervention study among prediabetics in Tanzania

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes mellitus have become major health issues even in non-industrialized countries. As access to clinical management is often poor, dietary interventions and alternative medicines are required. For bitter gourd, Momordica charantia L., antidiabetic properties have been claimed. Aim of the study: The main objective of the intervention study was to assess antidiabetic effects of daily bitter gourd consumption of 2.5 g powder over the course of eight weeks among prediabetic individuals. Materials and methods: In a randomized placebo-controlled single blinded clinical trial, 52 individuals with prediabetes were studied after consuming a bitter gourd or a cucumber juice. For reducing the impact of between subject differences in the study population, a crossover design was chosen with eight weeks for each study period and four weeks washout in between. Fasting plasma glucose was chosen as the primary outcome variable. Results: Comparing the different exposures, the CROS analysis (t=−2.23, p=0.031, r=0.326) revealed a significant difference in the change of FPG of 0.31 mmol/L (5.6 mg/dL) with a trend (R2=0,42387). The number of 44 finally complete data sets achieved a power of 0.82, with a medium-to-large effect size (Cohen's d 0.62). The effect was also proven by a general linear mixed model (estimate 0.31; SE: 0.12; p: 0.01; 95%CI: 0.08; 0.54). Not all participants responded, but the higher the initial blood glucose levels were, the more pronounced the effect was. No serious adverse effects were observed. Conclusions: Bitter gourd supplementation appeared to have benefits in lowering elevated fasting plasma glucose in prediabetes. The findings should be replicated in other intervention studies to further investigate glucose lowering effects and the opportunity to use bitter gourd for dietary self-management, especially in places where access to professional medical care is not easily assured

Pooled analysis of WHO Surgical Safety Checklist use and mortality after emergency laparotomy

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has fostered safe practice for 10 years, yet its place in emergency surgery has not been assessed on a global scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate reported checklist use in emergency settings and examine the relationship with perioperative mortality in patients who had emergency laparotomy. Methods In two multinational cohort studies, adults undergoing emergency laparotomy were compared with those having elective gastrointestinal surgery. Relationships between reported checklist use and mortality were determined using multivariable logistic regression and bootstrapped simulation. Results Of 12 296 patients included from 76 countries, 4843 underwent emergency laparotomy. After adjusting for patient and disease factors, checklist use before emergency laparotomy was more common in countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI) (2455 of 2741, 89.6 per cent) compared with that in countries with a middle (753 of 1242, 60.6 per cent; odds ratio (OR) 0.17, 95 per cent c.i. 0.14 to 0.21, P <0001) or low (363 of 860, 422 per cent; OR 008, 007 to 010, P <0.001) HDI. Checklist use was less common in elective surgery than for emergency laparotomy in high-HDI countries (risk difference -94 (95 per cent c.i. -11.9 to -6.9) per cent; P <0001), but the relationship was reversed in low-HDI countries (+121 (+7.0 to +173) per cent; P <0001). In multivariable models, checklist use was associated with a lower 30-day perioperative mortality (OR 0.60, 0.50 to 073; P <0.001). The greatest absolute benefit was seen for emergency surgery in low- and middle-HDI countries. Conclusion Checklist use in emergency laparotomy was associated with a significantly lower perioperative mortality rate. Checklist use in low-HDI countries was half that in high-HDI countries.Peer reviewe

Discrete-Time Nonlinear Pair Formation Models with Geometric Solutions

36 pages, 1 article*Discrete-Time Nonlinear Pair Formation Models with Geometric Solutions* (Castillo-Chavez, Carlos; Yakubu, Abdul-Aziz) 36 page

Nonlinear Mating Models for Populations with Non-Overlapping Generations

21 pages, 1 article*Nonlinear Mating Models for Populations with Non-Overlapping Generations* (Castillo-Chavez, Carlos; Yakubu, Abdul-Aziz) 21 page

Intraspecific Competition in the Population of Danaus plexippus(L.)

22 pages, 1 article*Intraspecific Competition in the Population of Danaus plexippus(L.)* (Saenz, Roberto; Stein, Julie; Yakubu, Aziz; Jones, Laura; Tisch, Nancy) 22 page

Metapopulation Models with Age Structure

20 pages, 1 article*Metapopulation Models with Age Structure* (Baldwin, Jermaine; Paret, Sherlyne; Torre, Carlos A.; Yakubu, A. A.) 20 page

The Demographic Effects of Increasing Anthropogenic Noise on Mysticeti Whales

25 pages, 1 article*The Demographic Effects of Increasing Anthropogenic Noise on Mysticeti Whales* (Cao-Berg, Ivan E.; Mercaldo, Nathaniel David; Sanchez, Shirley Eva; Tisch, Nancy; Yakubu, Abdul-Aziz) 25 page