Evaluation of resting sites of Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles gambiae s.l in an urban-rural transect in Jos, Nigeria

Background: The city of Jos, Nigeria, has been expanding with a consequent increase in the contact between humans and wild monkeys inhabiting the surrounding hills. Such a situation could increase the danger of the spread of zoonoses as well as arboviruses.Objective: To determine the relative monthly abundance of Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles gambiae s.l in three different habitats.Design: A longitudinal study.Setting: Urban-rural transect in Jos, Nigeria.Results: A total of 853 mosquitoes were collected, comprising of 98.5% Culex quinquefasciatus from all the three habitats and 1.5% Anopheles gambiae s.l only from the house habitat. The house habitat, C, yielded the most numbers of both species of mosquitoes, while the handcatch method significantly exceeded the box shelters in the yield of Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles gambiae s.lConclusion: The indoor resting habit observed by Cx. quinquefasciatus and An. gambiae s.l. makes indoor residual spraying and use of insecticide treated nets suitable for their control

Evidence of a multiple insecticide resistance in the malaria vector Anopheles funestus in South West Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Knowing the extent and spread of insecticide resistance in malaria vectors is vital to successfully manage insecticide resistance in Africa. This information in the main malaria vector, Anopheles funestus sensu stricto, is completely lacking in the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria. This study reports the insecticide susceptibility status and the molecular basis of resistance of An. funestus as well as its involvement in malaria transmission in Akaka-Remo, a farm settlement village in southwest Nigeria. RESULTS: Plasmodium infection analysis using TaqMan protocol coupled with a nested PCR revealed an infection rate of 8% in An. funestus s.s. from Akaka-Remo. WHO susceptibility tests showed this species has developed multiple resistance to insecticides in the study area. Anopheles funestus s.s. population in Akaka-Remo is highly resistant to organochlorines: dieldrin (8%) and DDT (10%). Resistance was also observed against pyrethroids: permethrin (68%) and deltamethrin (87%), and the carbamate bendiocarb (84%). Mortality rate with DDT slightly increased (from 10 to 30%, n = 45) after PBO pre-exposure indicating that cytochrome P450s play little role in DDT resistance while high mortalities were recorded after PBO pre-exposure with permethrin (from 68 to 100%, n = 70) and dieldrin (from 8 to 100%, n = 48) suggesting the implication of P450s in the observed permethrin and dieldrin resistance. High frequencies of resistant allele, 119F in F0 (77%) and F1 (80% in resistant and 72% in susceptible) populations with an odd ratio of 1.56 (P = 0.1859) show that L119F-GSTe2 mutation is almost fixed in the population. Genotyping of the A296S-RDL mutation in both F0 and F1 samples shows an association with dieldrin resistance with an odd ratio of 81 (P < 0.0001) (allelic frequency (R) = 76% for F0; for F1, 90 and 10% were observed in resistant and susceptible populations, respectively) as this mutation is not yet fixed in the population. CONCLUSION: The study reports multiple insecticide resistance in An. funestus from Akaka Remo. It is, therefore, necessary to pay more attention to this major malaria vector for effective malaria control in Nigeria

First-Digit Law in Nonextensive Statistics

Nonextensive statistics, characterized by a nonextensive parameter $q$, is a promising and practically useful generalization of the Boltzmann statistics to describe power-law behaviors from physical and social observations. We here explore the unevenness of the first digit distribution of nonextensive statistics analytically and numerically. We find that the first-digit distribution follows Benford's law and fluctuates slightly in a periodical manner with respect to the logarithm of the temperature. The fluctuation decreases when $q$ increases, and the result converges to Benford's law exactly as $q$ approaches 2. The relevant regularities between nonextensive statistics and Benford's law are also presented and discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, published in Phys. Rev.

Morphometric analyses and gene expression related to germ cells, gonadal ridge epithelial-like cells and granulosa cells during development of the bovine fetal ovary

Cells on the surface of the mesonephros give rise to replicating Gonadal Ridge Epithelial-Like (GREL) cells, the first somatic cells of the gonadal ridge. Later germ cells associate with the GREL cells in the ovigerous cords, and the GREL cells subsequently give rise to the granulosa cells in follicles. To examine these events further, 27 bovine fetal ovaries of different gestational ages were collected and prepared for immunohistochemical localisation of collagen type I and Ki67 to identify regions of the ovary and cell proliferation, respectively. The non-stromal cortical areas (collagen-negative) containing GREL cells and germ cells and later in development, the follicles with oocytes and granulosa cells, were analysed morphometrically. Another set of ovaries (n = 17) were collected and the expression of genes associated with germ cell lineages and GREL/granulosa cells were quantitated by RT-PCR. The total volume of non-stromal areas in the cortex increased significantly and progressively with ovarian development, plateauing at the time the surface epithelium developed. However, the proportion of non-stromal areas in the cortex declined significantly and progressively throughout gestation, largely due to a cessation in growth of the non-stroma cells and the continued growth of stroma. The proliferation index in the non-stromal area was very high initially and then declined substantially at the time follicles formed. Thereafter, it remained low. The numerical density of the non-stromal cells was relatively constant throughout ovarian development. The expression levels of a number of genes across gestation either increased (AMH, FSHR, ESR1, INHBA), declined (CYP19A1, ESR2, ALDH1A1, DSG2, OCT4, LGR5) or showed no particular pattern (CCND2, CTNNB1, DAZL, FOXL2, GATA4, IGFBP3, KRT19, NR5A1, RARRES1, VASA, WNT2B). Many of the genes whose expression changed across gestation, were positively or negatively correlated with each other. The relationships between these genes may reflect their roles in the important events such as the transition of ovigerous cords to follicles, oogonia to oocytes or GREL cells to granulosa cells.Katja Hummitzsch, Nicholas Hatzirodos, Helen F. Irving-Rodgers, Monica D. Hartanti, Viv E. A. Perry, Richard A. Anderson, Raymond J. Rodger

Candidate genes for polycystic ovary syndrome are regulated by TGFβ in the bovine foetal ovary

Vol. 37(6) pp 1244-1254STUDY QUESTION: Could changes in transforming growth factor b (TGFb) signalling during foetal ovary development alter the expression of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) candidate genes leading to a predisposition to PCOS? SUMMARY ANSWER: TGFb signalling molecules are dynamically expressed during foetal ovary development and TGFb1 inhibits expression of the androgen receptor (AR) and 7 (INSR, C8H9orf3, RAD50, ERBB3, NEIL2, IRF1 and ZBTB16) of the 25 PCOS candidate genes in foetal ovarian fibroblasts in vitro, whilst increasing expression of the AR cofactor TGFb-induced transcript 1 (TGFB1I1 or Hic5). WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: The ovarian stroma arises from the mesonephros during foetal ovary development. Changes in the morphology of the ovarian stroma are cardinal features of PCOS. The ovary is more fibrous and has more tunica and cortical and subcortical stroma. It is not known why this is and when this arises. PCOS has a foetal origin and perhaps ovarian stroma development is altered during foetal life to determine the formation of a polycystic ovary later in life. PCOS also has a genetic origin with 19 loci containing 25 PCOS candidate genes. In many adult tissues, TGFb is known to stimulate fibroblast replication and collagen deposition in stroma, though it has the opposite effect in the non-scaring foetal tissues. Our previous studies showed that TGFb signalling molecules [TGFbs and their receptors, latent TGFb binding proteins (LTBPs) and fibrillins, which are extracellular matrix proteins that bind LTBPs] are expressed in foetal ovaries. Also, we previously showed that TGFb1 inhibited expression of AR and 3 PCOS candidate genes (INSR, C8H9orf3 and RAD50) and stimulated expression of TGFB1I1 in cultured foetal ovarian fibroblasts. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: We used Bos taurus for this study as we can ethically collect foetal ovaries from across the full 9-month gestational period. Foetal ovaries (62–276 days, n ¼ 19) from across gestation were collected from pregnant B. taurus cows for RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analyses. Foetal ovaries from B. taurus cows were collected (160–198 days, n ¼ 6) for culture of ovarian fibroblasts. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: RNA-seq transcriptome profiling was performed on foetal ovaries and the data on genes involved in TGFb signalling were extracted. Cells were dispersed from foetal ovaries and fibroblasts cultured and treated with TGFb1. The effects of TGFb regulation on the remaining eight PCOS candidate genes not previously studied (ERBB3, MAPRE1, FDFT1, NEIL2, ARL14EP, PLGRKT, IRF1 and ZBTB16) were examined. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Many TGFb signalling molecules are expressed in the foetal ovary, and for most, their expression levels increased accross gestation (LTBP1/2/3/4, FBN1, TGFB2/3, TGFBR2/3 and TGFB1I1), while a few decreased (FBN3, TGFBR3L, TGFBI and TGFB1) and others remained relatively constant (TGFBRAP1, TGFBR1 and FBN2). TGFb1 significantly decreased expression of PCOS candidate genes ERBB3, NEIL2, IRF1 and ZBTB16 in cultured foetal ovarian fibroblasts. LARGE SCALE DATA: The FASTQ files, normalized data and experimental information have been deposited in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) accessible by accession number GSE178450.LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: Regulation of PCOS candidate genes by TGFb was carried out in vitro and further studies in vivo are required. This study was carried out in bovine where foetal ovaries from across all of the 9-month gestational period were available, unlike in the human where it is not ethically possible to obtain ovaries from the second half of gestation. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: From our current and previous results we speculate that inhibition of TGFb signalling in the foetal ovary is likely to (i) increase androgen sensitivity by enhancing expression of AR, (ii) increase stromal activity by stimulating expression of COL1A1 and COL3A1 and (iii) increase the expression of 7 of the 25 PCOS candidate genes. Thus inhibition of TGFb signalling could be part of the aetiology of PCOS or at least the aetiology of polycystic ovaries. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): Funding was received from Adelaide University China Fee Scholarship (M.L.), Australian Research Training Program (R.A.) and the Faculty of Health and Medical Science Divisional Scholarship (R.A.), Adelaide Graduate Research Scholarships (R.A. and N.A.B.), Australia Awards Scholarship (M.D.H.), Robinson Research Institute Career Development Fellowship (K.H.) and Building On Ideas Grant (K.H.), National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Centre for Research Excellence in the Evaluation, Management and Health Care Needs of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (N.A.B., M.D.H. and R.J.R.; GTN1078444) and the Centre for Research Excellence on Women’s Health in Reproductive life (R.A., R.J.R. and K.H.; GTN1171592) and the UK Medical Research Council (R.A.A.; grant no. G1100357). The funders did not play any role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. The authors of this manuscript have nothing to declare and no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research reported.Rafiatu Azumah, Menghe Liu, Katja Hummitzsch, Nicole A. Bastian, Monica D. Hartanti, Helen F. Irving-Rodgers, Richard A. Anderson, and Raymond J. Rodger

Mask formulas for cograssmannian Kazhdan-Lusztig polynomials

We give two contructions of sets of masks on cograssmannian permutations that can be used in Deodhar's formula for Kazhdan-Lusztig basis elements of the Iwahori-Hecke algebra. The constructions are respectively based on a formula of Lascoux-Schutzenberger and its geometric interpretation by Zelevinsky. The first construction relies on a basis of the Hecke algebra constructed from principal lower order ideals in Bruhat order and a translation of this basis into sets of masks. The second construction relies on an interpretation of masks as cells of the Bott-Samelson resolution. These constructions give distinct answers to a question of Deodhar.Comment: 43 page

Effects of genotype on the response of Populus tremuloides michx. To ozone and nitrogen deposition

Elevated O 3 concentrations and N deposition levels co -occur in much of eastern United States. However, very little is known about their combined effects on tree growth. The effects of three O 3 treatments: charcoal-filtered air, non-filtered air and O 3 , added at the rate of 80 ppb for 6 hr d −1 3 d per week), four N deposition levels (0, 10, 20 and 40 kg ha −1 yr −1 ), and their interactions on growth of two Populus tremuloides clones in open-top chambers at two sites 600 km apart in Michigan were examined. Our results revealed a highly significant fertilization effect of the N treatments, even at the 10 kg ha −1 yr −1 rate. Ozone alone induced foliar injury, but not significant growth reductions. There was an indication that O 3 decreased growth at the O N level, but this decrease was reversed in all N treatments by the N fertilization effect. Further study is needed to more fully understand the combined effects of N deposition and O 3 .Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43906/1/11270_2004_Article_BF00480254.pd

BASS. XXXVI. Constraining the local supermassive black hole-halo connection with BASS DR2 AGNs

Galaxie

Effect of a medical food on body mass index and activities of daily living in patients with Alzheimer's disease: secondary analyses from a randomized, controlled trial

Contains fulltext : 97852.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of a medical food (Souvenaid) on body mass index (BMI) and functional abilities in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD). DESIGN/SETTING/PARTICIPANTS/INTERVENTION /MEASUREMENTS: These analyses were performed on data from a 12-week, double-blind, randomized, controlled, multicenter, proof-of-concept study with a similarly designed and exploratory 12-week extension period. Patients with mild AD (Mini-Mental State Examination score of 20-26) were randomized to receive either the active product or an iso-caloric control product. While primary outcomes included measures of cognition, the 23-item Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living (ADCS-ADL) scale was included as a secondary outcome. Both ADCS-ADL and BMI were assessed at baseline and Weeks 6, 12 and 24. Data were analyzed using a repeated-measures mixed model. RESULTS: Overall, data suggested an increased BMI in the active versus the control group at Week 24 (ITT: p = 0.07; PP: p = 0.03), but no treatment effect on ADCS-ADL was observed. However, baseline BMI was found to be a significant treatment effect modifier (ITT: p = 0.04; PP: p = 0.05), and an increase in ADCS-ADL was observed at Week 12 in patients with a 'low' baseline BMI (ITT: p = 0.02; PP: p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that baseline BMI significantly impacts the effect of Souvenaid on functional abilities. In addition, there was a suggestion that Souvenaid increased BMI

Antibody decay, T cell immunity and breakthrough infections following two SARS-CoV-2 vaccine doses in inflammatory bowel disease patients treated with infliximab and vedolizumab

This is the final version. Available on open access from Nature Research via the DOI in this recordData availability: The study protocol including the statistical analysis plan is available at https://www.clarityibd.org/. Individual participant de-identified data that underlie the results reported in this article will be available immediately after publication for a period of 5 years. Due to the sensitive nature of the data, this will be made available to investigators whose proposed use of the data has been approved by an independent review committee. Analyses will be restricted to the aims in the approved proposal. Proposals should be directed to [email protected]. To gain access data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement. Data from the Virus Watch study is currently being archived on the Office of National Statistics Secure Research Service and will be available shortly. Source data are provided with this paper in the Source Data file. Source data are provided with this paper.Code availability: Statistical analyses were undertaken in R 4.1.2 (R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. Code has been made available at: https://github.com/exeteribd/clarityibd-public.Anti tumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs increase the risk of serious respiratory infection and impair protective immunity following pneumococcal and influenza vaccination. Here we report SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-induced immune responses and breakthrough infections in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, who are treated either with the anti-TNF antibody, infliximab, or with vedolizumab targeting a gut-specific anti-integrin that does not impair systemic immunity. Geometric mean [SD] anti-S RBD antibody concentrations are lower and half-lives shorter in patients treated with infliximab than vedolizumab, following two doses of BNT162b2 (566.7 U/mL [6.2] vs 4555.3 U/mL [5.4], p <0.0001; 26.8 days [95% CI 26.2 - 27.5] vs 47.6 days [45.5 - 49.8], p <0.0001); similar results are also observed with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination (184.7 U/mL [5.0] vs 784.0 U/mL [3.5], p <0.0001; 35.9 days [34.9 - 36.8] vs 58.0 days [55.0 - 61.3], p value < 0.0001). One fifth of patients fail to mount a T cell response in both treatment groups. Breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections are more frequent (5.8% (201/3441) vs 3.9% (66/1682), p = 0.0039) in patients treated with infliximab than vedolizumab, and the risk of breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection is predicted by peak anti-S RBD antibody concentration after two vaccine doses. Irrespective of the treatments, higher, more sustained antibody levels are observed in patients with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection prior to vaccination. Our results thus suggest that adapted vaccination schedules may be required to induce immunity in at-risk, anti-TNF-treated patients