The black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae): Trapping and culturing of wild colonies in Ghana

The larvae of the black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens L. (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), are promising candidates to be utilized in alternative organic waste management and for fish and livestock feed production. The scalability of this technology in Ghana will depend on a steady source of large numbers of BSF larvae. The objectives of this study were to identify the most attractive organic manure dumps or heaps in the study area for trapping wild BSF egg clutches and assess the effect of local environmental conditions on the trapping and laboratory rearing of BSF. The study compared the number of egg clutch trapped at different microhabitats including piggery, chicken and sheep waste dumps and on a compost heap. The piggery dump waste was the most suitable site for trapping BSF egg clutches. No egg clutch was deposited nearby poultry and sheep waste microhabitats. Results showed no differences in temperature between microhabitats during egg trapping but relative humidity differed between poultry, sheep and compost, however this did not have any effect on egg clutch trapping. No significant differences in temperature and humidity were observed during larval rearing. Significant differences in weight and length of larvae from both piggery and compost sites were observed on days 5 and 10 after egg hatch. A small scale laboratory colony rearing has been successfully established in Ghana. The design of the larval breeding system appears to be suitable for respective up-scaling that could provide sufficient larval quantities for composting organic waste and producing feed components for livestock and fish

Disbudding effects on growth analysis of Celosia (Celosia cristata)

Experiments to investigate the effects of disbudding on growth analysis of two celosia cultivars, ‘Carmine’ and ‘Chief Gold’, were carried out on the field in 2009 and 2010 at the Sinna Garden of Department of Crop Science, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana. The treatments consisted of disbudding once, disbudding twice, and no disbudding, as control, and were arranged in a 3x2 split plot in a randomized complete block design with four replications in 2009 (experiment 1) and three in 2010 (experiment 2). The two cultivars were harvested weekly during the growing period and separated into the various plant parts and oven-dried for dry weights, using appropriate formulae to calculate the various growth parameters. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyse the data and a correlation coefficient matrix showed relationships among growth parameters. Disbudding resulted in increased leaf area index, leaf area ratio, leaf area duration, relative growth rate, and harvest index, but reduced crop growth rate and net assimilation rate. ‘Chief Gold’ had a higher harvest index than ‘Carmine’. Disbudding plants once gave the best flower head size and weight result. ‘Carmine’ gave the best flower yield and quality results in experiment 1 and ‘Chief Gold’ in experiment 2

Diagnostic performance of endoscopic ultrasound-guided tissue acquisition of splenic lesions: systematic review with pooled analysis

Background: Focal splenic lesions are usually incidentally discovered on radiological assessments. Although percutaneous tissue acquisition (TA) under trans-abdominal ultrasound guidance is a well-established technique for obtaining cyto-histological diagnosis of focal splenic lesions, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided TA has been described in several studies, reporting different safety and outcomes. The aim was to assess the pooled safety, adequacy, and accuracy of EUS-TA of splenic lesions. Methods: A comprehensive review of available evidence was conducted at the end of November 2021. All studies including more than five patients and reporting about the safety, adequacy, and accuracy of EUS-TA of the spleen were included. Results: Six studies (62 patients) were identified; all studies have been conducted using fine-needle aspiration (FNA) needles. Pooled specimen adequacy and accuracy of EUS-TA for spleen characterization were 92.8% [95% confidence interval (CI), 86.3%-99.3%] and 88.2% (95% CI, 79.3%-97.1%), respectively. The pooled incidence of adverse events (six studies, 62 patients) was 4.7% (95% CI, 0.4%-9.7%). Conclusion: EUS-FNA of the spleen is a safe technique with high diagnostic adequacy and accuracy. The EUS-guided approach could be considered a valid alternative to the percutaneous approach for spleen TA

Endoscopic Ultrasound Guided Biliary Drainage in Malignant Distal Biliary Obstruction

Malignant biliary obstruction (MBO) is a challenging medical problem that often negatively impacts the patient’s quality of life (QoL), postoperative complications, and survival rates. Endoscopic approaches to biliary drainage are generally performed by ERCP or, in selected cases, with a percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD). Recent advances in therapeutic endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) allow drainage where previous methods have failed. EUS has evolved from a purely diagnostic technique to one that allows a therapeutic approach in the event of ERCP failure in distal MBO. Moreover, the introduction of dedicated accessories and prostheses for EUS-guided transmural biliary drainage (EUS-BD) made these procedures more successful with regard to technical success, clinical outcomes and reduction of adverse events (AEs). Finally, lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMS) have improved the therapeutic role of the EUS. Subsequently, the electrocautery enhanced tip of the LAMS (EC-LAMS) allows a direct access of the delivery system to the target lumen, thereby simplifying and reducing the EUS-BD procedure time. EUS-BD using LAMS and EC-LAMS has proven effective and safe with a low rate of AEs. This review aims to evaluate biliary drainage techniques in malignant obstruction, focusing on the role of EUS biliary drainage by LAMS

Drug-resistant genotypes and multi-clonality in Plasmodium falciparum analysed by direct genome sequencing from peripheral blood of malaria patients.

Naturally acquired blood-stage infections of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum typically harbour multiple haploid clones. The apparent number of clones observed in any single infection depends on the diversity of the polymorphic markers used for the analysis, and the relative abundance of rare clones, which frequently fail to be detected among PCR products derived from numerically dominant clones. However, minority clones are of clinical interest as they may harbour genes conferring drug resistance, leading to enhanced survival after treatment and the possibility of subsequent therapeutic failure. We deployed new generation sequencing to derive genome data for five non-propagated parasite isolates taken directly from 4 different patients treated for clinical malaria in a UK hospital. Analysis of depth of coverage and length of sequence intervals between paired reads identified both previously described and novel gene deletions and amplifications. Full-length sequence data was extracted for 6 loci considered to be under selection by antimalarial drugs, and both known and previously unknown amino acid substitutions were identified. Full mitochondrial genomes were extracted from the sequencing data for each isolate, and these are compared against a panel of polymorphic sites derived from published or unpublished but publicly available data. Finally, genome-wide analysis of clone multiplicity was performed, and the number of infecting parasite clones estimated for each isolate. Each patient harboured at least 3 clones of P. falciparum by this analysis, consistent with results obtained with conventional PCR analysis of polymorphic merozoite antigen loci. We conclude that genome sequencing of peripheral blood P. falciparum taken directly from malaria patients provides high quality data useful for drug resistance studies, genomic structural analyses and population genetics, and also robustly represents clonal multiplicity

Extensive dynamics of Plasmodium falciparum densities, stages and genotyping profiles

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Individuals living in areas of high malaria transmission often have different <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>clones detected in the peripheral blood over time. The aim of this study was to assess the dynamics of asymptomatic <it>P. falciparum </it>infections in a few hours intervals.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Capillary blood samples were collected 6-hourly during five days from asymptomatic children in a highly endemic area in Tanzania. Parasite densities and maturation stages were investigated by light microscopy. Types and number of clones were analysed by PCR based genotyping of the polymorphic merozoite surface proteins 1 and 2 genes. Results: Parasite densities and maturation stages fluctuated 48-hourly with a gradual shift into more mature forms. Various genotyping patterns were observed in repeated samples over five days with only few samples with identical profiles. Up to six alleles differed in samples collected six hours apart in the same individual.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This detailed assessment highlights the extensive within-host dynamics of <it>P. falciparum </it>populations and the limitations of single blood samples to determine parasite densities, stages and genotyping profiles in a malaria infected individual.</p

Relationship between Plasmodium falciparum malaria prevalence, genetic diversity and endemic Burkitt lymphoma in Malawi

Endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL) has been linked to Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) malaria infection, but the contribution of infection with multiple Pf genotypes is uncertain. We studied 303 eBL (cases) and 274 non eBL-related cancers (controls) in Malawi using a sensitive and specific molecular-barcode array of 24 independently segregating Pf single nucleotide polymorphisms. Cases had a higher Pf malaria prevalence than controls (64.7% versus 45.3%; odds ratio [OR] 2.1, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.5 to 3.1). Cases and controls were similar in terms of Pf density (4.9 versus 4.5 log copies, p = 0.28) and having ≥3 non-clonal calls (OR 2.7, 95% CI: 0.7-9.9, P = 0.14). However, cases were more likely to have a higher Pf genetic diversity score (153.9 versus 133.1, p = 0.036), which measures a combination of clonal and non-clonal calls, than controls. Further work is needed to evaluate the possible role of Pf genetic diversity in the pathogenesis of endemic BL