Evaluation of Orange Peel Citrus Sinensis (L) As a Source of Repellent, Toxicant and Protectant against Zabrotes Subfasciatus (Coleoptera: Bruchidae)

Continued application of synthetic insecticides arise development of resistance and pollution of the environment. Laboratory experiments were conducted to test the efficacy of products of orange (Citrus sinensis) peels in the control of the stored products beetle Zabrotes subfasciatus (L) in stored haricot beans (latin name). Different levels of the extracts and essential oil of Citrus sinensis was tested. Conventional synthetic insecticide, Pirimiphos-methyl, was used as a standard check. Toxicity potential of different extracts of C. sinensis was tested against Z. subfasciatus. Extracts prepared using different solvents against the beetles were not toxic. However, essential oils at highest rate of 750mg applied at 3ml per filter paper gave 100 % mortality after 24 h. Beans treated with 15g of sun dried powder of orange peel and 750mg of essential oil killed 65% and 67% of Z. subfaciatus after 96 hours respectively. Powders from ground peels caused significant reduction in progeny emergence of Z. subfasciatus (P< 0.05). There was no progeny produced when essential oil was used, even at lower dosage levels of 30mg. All the treatments were repellent to Z. subfasciatus. The essential oil of orange peel had a high level of toxicity in the fumigation bioassay against Z. subfasiatus. Key words: Citrus sinensis, essential oil, Zabrotes subfasciatus, Pirimiphos-methyl, Percent weight loss, Damage assessment

Spontaneous Embedding of DNA Mismatches Within the RNA:DNA Hybrid of CRISPR-Cas9.

CRISPR-Cas9 is the forefront technology for editing the genome. In this system, the Cas9 protein is programmed with guide RNAs to process DNA sequences that match the guide RNA forming an RNA:DNA hybrid structure. However, the binding of DNA sequences that do not fully match the guide RNA can limit the applicability of CRISPR-Cas9 for genome editing, resulting in the so-called off-target effects. Here, molecular dynamics is used to probe the effect of DNA base pair mismatches within the RNA:DNA hybrid in CRISPR-Cas9. Molecular simulations revealed that the presence of mismatched pairs in the DNA at distal sites with respect to the Protospacer Adjacent Motif (PAM) recognition sequence induces an extended opening of the RNA:DNA hybrid, leading to novel interactions established by the unwound nucleic acids and the protein counterpart. On the contrary, mismatched pairs upstream of the RNA:DNA hybrid are rapidly incorporated within the heteroduplex, with minor effect on the protein-nucleic acid interactions. As a result, mismatched pairs at PAM distal ends interfere with the activation of the catalytic HNH domain, while mismatches fully embedded in the RNA:DNA do not affect the HNH dynamics and enable its activation to cleave the DNA. These findings provide a mechanistic understanding to the intriguing experimental evidence that PAM distal mismatches hamper a proper function of HNH, explaining also why mismatches within the heteroduplex are much more tolerated. This constitutes a step forward in understanding off-target effects in CRISPR-Cas9, which encourages novel structure-based engineering efforts aimed at preventing the onset of off-target effects

Phenotypic heterogeneity of Campylobacter coli isolated from conventional and antimicrobial free swine at farm and slaughter

The aim of this study was to determine the phenotypic and genotypic diversity of multiple Campylobacter coli isolates (n = 3) present in the same pig fecal and carcass samples at fann and slaughter, respectively. We isolated 1459 C. coli (1110 on farm and 349 from slaughter) from 908 pigs and 757 carcasses and characterized them for their antimicrobial susceptibility profile to a panel of six antimicrobials using the agar dilution method. A subset of 40 isolates representing 10 pigs and eight carcass samples were further genotyped by multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). Phenotypic diversity of C. coli isolates at the four fold minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) levels within the same sample was detected in 39% (n = 192) pigs and 40.2% (n = 58) carcass swabs with no significant difference between the two sources (P = 0.721). Phenotypic heterogeneity based on the resistance patterns was observed in 32.5% (n = 162) of the farm samples and in 30.5% (n = 44) carcass swabs at slaughter (P = 0.64). Genotypic diversity based on MLST was detected in the 40 isolates which were represented by 22 sequence types (ST). In conclusion, we detected multiple C. coli subtypes from individual pig or carcass samples. Our study clearly signifies the importance of testing multiple colonies to make appropriate and valid conclusions in epidemiological based studies

Duration of Supplemental Oxygen Requirement and Predictors in Severe COVID-19 Patients in Ethiopia: A Survival Analysis

BACKGROUND፡ With the rising number of new cases of COVID-19, understanding the oxygen requirement of severe patients assists in identifying at risk groups and in making an informed decision on building hospitals capacity in terms of oxygen facility arrangement. Therefore, the study aimed to estimate time to getting off supplemental oxygen therapy and identify predictors among COVID-19 patients admitted to Millennium COVID-19 Care Center in Ethiopia.METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted among 244 consecutively admitted COVID-19 patients from July to September, 2020. Kaplan Meier plots, median survival times and Log-rank test were used to describe the data and compare survival distribution between groups. Cox proportional hazard survival model was used to identify determinants of time to getting off supplemental oxygen therapy, where hazard ratio (HR), Pvalue and 95%CI for HR were used for testing significance and interpretation of results.RESULTS: Median time to getting off supplemental oxygen therapy among the studied population was 6 days (IQR,4.3-20.0). Factors that affect time to getting off supplemental oxygen therapy were age group (AHR=0.52,95%CI=0.32,0.84, pvalue=0.008 for ≥70 years) and shortness of breath (AHR=0.71,95%CI=0.52,0.96, p-value=0.026).CONCLUSION: Average duration of supplemental oxygen therapy requirement among COVID-19 patients was 6 days and being 70 years and older and having shortness of breath were found to be associated with prolonged duration of supplemental oxygen therapy requirement. This result can be used as a guide in planning institutional resource allocation and patient management to provide a well-equipped care to prevent complications and death from the disease

Prevalence of methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MRS+) in pigs and farm workers

This study aims to dctcnnine the prevalence of MRSA and other methicillin resistant staphylococci in swine and swine fann workers. We collected swab and fecal samples from 96 pigs of 6-9 weeks of age from four fam1s in Ohio. Swab samples were collected from both anterior nares and fecal samples directly from the rectum of corresponding pigs. Nasal and oropharyngeal samples were collected from consenting farm workers. Samples were processed following conventional cultural methods and we used methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus selective agar (MRSA Chromagar®)

Association between biocide use and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella in swine production environment

Swine are important reservoirs of antimicrobial resistant Salmonella. The emergence and dissemination of multidrug resistant (MDR) Salmonella enterica has also become a major concern globally. Studies on the association between biocide usc and emergence and persistence of MDR Salmonella in swine production environment are very limited. The aim of this study was to determine the role of specific classes of biocides (disinfectants) in the emergence and persistence of multidrug resistant Salmonella in swine production environments

Refashioning the Ethiopian monarchy in the twentieth century: An intellectual history

This article traces the shift in the Ethiopian monarchical ideology from lineage as symbolic Christian filiation to dynasty as a political genealogy of sovereign power. From the end of the nineteenth century, and more prominently under Haylä Səllase, Ethiopian state sources started qualifying the Ethiopian ruling dynasty as ‘unbroken’ in history. A record of ‘uninterrupted’ power allowed the Ethiopian government to politically appropriate past glories and claim them as ‘ours’, thus compensating for the political weakness of the present with the political greatness of the past. The ideological rebranding of the Ethiopian monarchy in the 1930s brought Ethiopia closer to Japan, and the ‘eternalist clause’ of the Meiji constitution offered a powerful model of how to recodify dynasty in modern legal terms. An intellectual history of dynasty in the Ethiopian context sees the concept simultaneously associated with both hegemonic and counter-hegemonic political projects. The narratives of continuity enabled by the dynastisation of history were successful in invigorating the pro-Ethiopian front during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia (1936-1941), but served at the same time to reinforce domestic mechanisms of class, political and cultural domination

Structured headache services as the solution to the ill-health burden of headache: 1. Rationale and description

In countries where headache services exist at all, their focus is usually on specialist (tertiary) care. This is clinically and economically inappropriate: most headache disorders can effectively and more efficiently (and at lower cost) be treated in educationally supported primary care. At the same time, compartmentalizing divisions between primary, secondary and tertiary care in many health-care systems create multiple inefficiencies, confronting patients attempting to navigate these levels (the “patient journey”) with perplexing obstacles. High demand for headache care, estimated here in a needs-assessment exercise, is the biggest of the challenges to reform. It is also the principal reason why reform is necessary. The structured headache services model presented here by experts from all world regions on behalf of the Global Campaign against Headache is the suggested health-care solution to headache. It develops and refines previous proposals, responding to the challenge of high demand by basing headache services in primary care, with two supporting arguments. First, only primary care can deliver headache services equitably to the large numbers of people needing it. Second, with educational supports, they can do so effectively to most of these people. The model calls for vertical integration between care levels (primary, secondary and tertiary), and protection of the more advanced levels for the minority of patients who need them. At the same time, it is amenable to horizontal integration with other care services. It is adaptable according to the broader national or regional health services in which headache services should be embedded. It is, according to evidence and argument presented, an efficient and cost-effective model, but these are claims to be tested in formal economic analyses

Author Correction: Elucidating causative gene variants in hereditary Parkinson’s disease in the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2)

Correction to: npj Parkinson’s Disease, published online 27 June 2023 In this article the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2) members names and affiliations were missing in the main author list of the Original article which are listed in the below

Defining the causes of sporadic Parkinson’s disease in the global Parkinson’s genetics program (GP2)

\ua9 2023, Springer Nature Limited. The Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2) will genotype over 150,000 participants from around the world, and integrate genetic and clinical data for use in large-scale analyses to dramatically expand our understanding of the genetic architecture of PD. This report details the workflow for cohort integration into the complex arm of GP2, and together with our outline of the monogenic hub in a companion paper, provides a generalizable blueprint for establishing large scale collaborative research consortia