Influence of temperature and relative humidity on the efficacy of diatomaceous earth and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschinkoff) Sorokin (Hyphomycetes: Deuteromycotina) against Tyrophagus fatimii F. (Astigmata: Acaridae)

The combined as well as the alone effect of diatomaceous earth (DE) and entomopathogenic fungi were evaluated against Tyrophagus fatimii (Astigmata: Acaridae). Two different dose rates of DE (1 g and 1.5 g/kg of wheat) and three of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Hyphomycetes: Deuteromycotina) (3.6 x 107, 3.6 x 108 and 3.6 x 109 conidia/kg of wheat) were taken and studied at 20°C and 25°C with 45% and 55% r.h. under three exposure intervals. It was found that the combined effect of DE diatomaceous earth and M. anisopliae was maximum at 25°C and 55% r.h. which gave 75% adult mortality at their highest dose rates, however, DE alone exhibited the highest mortality (61.3%) at 25°C and 45% r.h. On the other hand, M. anisopliae gave maximum mortality of mites (48.7%) at 20°C and 55% r.h. at 3.6 x 109 conidia/kg of wheat. It was concluded that the efficacy of both DE and M. anisopliae increased with the increase of the exposure interval. Moreover, the increase of dose increased the mortality. In addition, temperature and r.h. are the key factors for determining the effectiveness of both DE and M. anisopliae. Keywords: Diatomaceous earth, Tyrophagus fatimii, Metarhizium anisopliae, Stored wheat

Editorial: Insect physiological changes during insect-plant interaction

The interactions between phytophagous insects and their host plants result from a long and continuous evolutionary process (Beran and Petschenka, 2022). Such ecological relationships led to an extraordinary diversity of insects and shaped their complex physiological systems (Wheat et al., 2007). The impacts of host plants on the physiology of herbivorous insects have increasingly become a paramount focus that should not be ignored. Chemical compounds’ composition of plants have not only significant variations in the inter/intra species aspect but also show spatiotemporal variations in different developmental stages and tissue types, or under changeable environments in nature, which lead to the resource assimilation and fitness challenges of insects (Delucia et al., 2012; Brütting et al., 2017). These close interations with plants affect the ecological plasticity of the performance of insect herbivores (Barker et al., 2019). Currently, in-depth exploration of the host plants’ effect on insects has become a research hotspot of insect physiology, however to test the highly complex hypothesis can be difficult. The current Research Topic aimed to highlight the recent developments on 1) how physiological changes occurred in herbivores during their interaction with host plants, 2) how these physiological changes in insects could be affected by other biotic factors

Efficacy assessment of diatomaceous earth against Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) on gram at different temperature and relative humidity regimes

The efficacy of diatomaceous earth against Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) was evaluated on stored gram under laboratory conditions. The bioassay was conducted at 25 and 30°C in combination with 50 and 60% r.h. Diatomaceous earth (DE) formulation (Diafil 610), at the dose rates of 200, 400, 600 and 800 ppm was admixed with gram grains. Fifty unsexed adults of C. maculatus were released in each jar and treatments replicated thrice. Mortality data was recorded after 2, 3 and 5 days of exposure intervals and after every count the dead individuals were removed, and the commodity was maintained for an additional period of 25 d, in order to record the emergence of F1 adults. The results showed that all treatments were highly effective against the bruchids; however, the highest mortality (100%) was observed at 30°C and 50% relative humidity at 800 ppm of DE with minimal progeny production.Keywords: Diatomaceous earth, Callosobruchus maculatus, Temperature, relative humidity, Gra

Depression amongst healthcare workers in Maiduguri, north-eastern Nigeria

Objective: Very few studies reported the high prevalence of emotional reactions amongst healthcare workers, in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of depression among health care workers in two tertiary health institutions in Maiduguri, north-Eastern Nigeria.Methods: In this comparative, cross-sectional study, we used a stratified sampling technique to recruit 370 healthcare workers (clinical and non-clinical staff) from university teaching hospital, and Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Maiduguri, Borno State, north-east Nigeria. The participants completed a semi-structured socio-demographic questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II).Results: Twenty (10.7%) and 14 (7.6%) clinical and non-clinical health care workers, respectively had depression (÷2 = 1.096, df = 1, ñ = 0.295). The prevalence of depression in males and females were 7.8% and 26.9%, respectively. Gender had a significant association with depression (÷2 = 3.427, df = 1, ñ =0.043).Conclusion: For an effective healthcare delivery service, the psychological well-being of hospital workers must be improved. Hospital workers require skills on stress management techniques.Keywords: Depression, healthcare workers, Maiduguri, Nigeri

Author Correction: A thermodynamic platform for evaluating the energy efficiency of combined power generation and desalination plants

The original version of the published Article contained an error in the spelling of the author Doskhan Ybyraiymkul, which was incorrectly given as Doskhan Ybyraiykul. This has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the Article

Leptin Contributes to the Adaptive Responses of Mice to High-Fat Diet Intake through Suppressing the Lipogenic Pathway

Background: Leptin is an adipocyte-derived hormone that plays a critical role in energy homeostasis and lipid metabolism. Overnutrition-associated obesity is known to be accompanied by hyperleptinemia. However, the physiological actions of leptin in the metabolic responses to high-fat diet (HFD) intake remain to be completely elucidated. Here we characterized the metabolic features of mice fed high-fat diets and investigated the impact of leptin upon the lipogenic program which was found to be suppressed by HFD feeding through a proteomics approach. Results: When maintained on two types of high-fat diets for up to 16 weeks, mice with a higher fat intake exhibited increased body fat accumulation at a greater pace, developing more severely impaired glucose tolerance. Notably, HFD feeding at 4 weeks elicited the onset of marked hyperleptinemia, prior to the occurrence of apparent insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia. Proteomic analysis revealed dramatically decreased expression of lipogenic enzymes in the white adipose tissue (WAT) from HFD-fed mice, including ATP-citrate lyase (ACL) and fatty acid synthase (FAS). The expression of ACL and FAS in the liver was similarly suppressed in response to HFD feeding. By contrast, HFD-induced downregulation of hepatic ACL and FAS was significantly attenuated in leptin receptor-deficient db/db mice. Furthermore, in the liver and WAT of wild type animals, intraperitoneal leptin administration was able to directly suppress the expression of these two lipogenic enzymes, accompanied by reduced triglyceride levels both in the liver and serum. Conclusions: These results suggest that leptin contributes to the metabolic responses in adaptation to overnutrition through suppressing the expression of lipogenic enzymes, and that the lipogenic pathway represents a key targeted peripheral component in exerting leptin's liporegulatory actions. © 2009 Jiang et al

ACC2 Is Expressed at High Levels Human White Adipose and Has an Isoform with a Novel N-Terminus

Acetyl-CoA carboxylases ACC1 and ACC2 catalyze the carboxylation of acetyl-CoA to malonyl-CoA, regulating fatty-acid synthesis and oxidation, and are potential targets for treatment of metabolic syndrome. Expression of ACC1 in rodent lipogenic tissues and ACC2 in rodent oxidative tissues, coupled with the predicted localization of ACC2 to the mitochondrial membrane, have suggested separate functional roles for ACC1 in lipogenesis and ACC2 in fatty acid oxidation. We find, however, that human adipose tissue, unlike rodent adipose, expresses more ACC2 mRNA relative to the oxidative tissues muscle and heart. Human adipose, along with human liver, expresses more ACC2 than ACC1. Using RT-PCR, real-time PCR, and immunoprecipitation we report a novel isoform of ACC2 (ACC2.v2) that is expressed at significant levels in human adipose. The protein generated by this isoform has enzymatic activity, is endogenously expressed in adipose, and lacks the N-terminal sequence. Both ACC2 isoforms are capable of de novo lipogenesis, suggesting that ACC2, in addition to ACC1, may play a role in lipogenesis. The results demonstrate a significant difference in ACC expression between human and rodents, which may introduce difficulties for the use of rodent models for development of ACC inhibitors

The Effect of ACACB cis-Variants on Gene Expression and Metabolic Traits

Acetyl Coenzyme A carboxylase β (ACACB) is the rate-limiting enzyme in fatty acid oxidation, and continuous fatty acid oxidation in Acacb knock-out mice increases insulin sensitivity. Systematic human studies have not been performed to evaluate whether ACACB variants regulate gene expression and insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle and adipose tissues. We sought to determine whether ACACB transcribed variants were associated with ACACB gene expression and insulin sensitivity in non-diabetic African American (AA) and European American (EA) adults.ACACB transcribed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in 105 EAs and 46 AAs whose body mass index (BMI), lipid profiles and ACACB gene expression in subcutaneous adipose and skeletal muscle had been measured. Allelic expression imbalance (AEI) was assessed in lymphoblast cell lines from heterozygous subjects in an additional EA sample (n = 95). Selected SNPs were further examined for association with insulin sensitivity in a cohort of 417 EAs and 153 AAs.ACACB transcribed SNP rs2075260 (A/G) was associated with adipose ACACB messenger RNA expression in EAs and AAs (p = 3.8×10(-5), dominant model in meta-analysis, Stouffer method), with the (A) allele representing lower gene expression in adipose and higher insulin sensitivity in EAs (p = 0.04). In EAs, adipose ACACB expression was negatively associated with age and sex-adjusted BMI (r = -0.35, p = 0.0002).Common variants within the ACACB locus appear to regulate adipose gene expression in humans. Body fat (represented by BMI) may further regulate adipose ACACB gene expression in the EA population

Pituitary surgery for small prolactinomas as an alternative to treatment with dopamine agonists

Despite the fact that consensus guidelines recommend long-term dopamine agonist (DA) therapy as a first-line approach to the treatment of small prolactinoma, some patients continue to prefer a primary surgical approach. Concerns over potential adverse effects of long-term medical therapy and/or the desire to become pregnant and avoid long-term medication are often mentioned as reasons to pursue surgical removal. In this retrospective study, 34 consecutive patients (30 female, 4 male) preferably underwent primary pituitary surgery without prior DA treatment for small prolactinomas (microprolactinoma 1–10 mm, macroprolactinoma 11–20 mm) at the Department of Neurosurgery, University of Bern, Switzerland. At the time of diagnosis, 31 of 34 patients (91%) presented with symptoms. Patients with microprolactinomas had significantly lower preoperative prolactin (PRL) levels compared to patients with macroprolactinomas (median 143 μg/l vs. 340 μg/l). Ninety percent of symptomatic patients experienced significant improvement of their signs and symptoms upon surgery. The postoperative PRL levels (median 3.45 μg/l) returned to normal in 94% of patients with small prolactinomas. There was no mortality and no major morbidities. One patient suffered from hypogonadotropic hypogonadism after surgery despite postoperative normal PRL levels. Long-term remission was achieved in 22 of 24 patients (91%) with microprolactinomas, and in 8 of 10 patients (80%) with macroprolactinomas after a median follow-up period of 33.5 months. Patients with small prolactinomas can safely consider pituitary surgery in a specialized centre with good chance of long-term remission as an alternative to long-term DA therapy