A Survey for Biting Flies in three Local Government Areas of Taraba State, Nigeria

This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of biting flies from Gashaka, Ibi and Karim Lamido Local Government Areas (LGA) of Taraba State between July and August, 2010 using biconical traps, and identify them using morphological characteristics. Of the 908 biting flies collected from the traps 37.9% (344/908) were Tabanus, 25.9% (235/908) were Haematopota, 24.5% (223/908) were Chrysops, and 11.7% (106/908) were Glossina. Based on the LGAs sampled, the distribution of the flies in Gashaka, Ibi, and Karim Lamido (K/Lamido) were 44.6% (419/908), 21.9% (199/908), and 33.5% (290/908) respectively (p<0.05). An infection rate of 1.89% (2/106) was observed among the tsetse flies trapped. Two species of tsetse flies were identified as Glossina palpalis representing 67.9% (72/106) and Glossina tachinoides 32.1% (34/106). In conclusion, Tabanids had the highest distribution while Glossina had the lowest distribution across the three (3) LGAs of the State.Keywords: Biconical traps, Biting Flies, Survey, Taraba State

Mechanical properties of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide thin films on compliant substrates for flexible optoelectronic devices

Amorphous indium–gallium–zinc-oxide (a-IGZO) thin films were deposited using RF magnetron sputtering on polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) flexible substrates and their mechanical flexibility investigated using uniaxial tensile and buckling tests coupled with in situ optical microscopy. The uniaxial fragmentation test demonstrated that the crack onset strain of the IGZO/PEN was ~ 2.9%, which is slightly higher than that of IGZO/PET. Also, uniaxial tensile crack density analysis suggests that the saturated crack spacing of the film is strongly dependent on the mechanical properties of the underlying polymer substrate. Buckling test results suggest that the crack onset strain (equal to ~ 1.2%, of the IGZO/polymer samples flexed in compression to ~ 5.7 mm concave radius of curvature) is higher than that of the samples flexed with the film being in tension (convex bending) regardless whether the substrate is PEN or PET. The saturated crack density of a-IGZO film under the compression buckling mode is smaller than that of the film under the tensile buckling mode. This could be attributed to the fact that the tensile stress encouraged this crack formation originating from surface defects in the coating. It could also be due to the buckling delamination of the thin coating from the substrate at a lower strain than that at which a crack initiates during flexing in compression. These results provide useful information on the mechanical reliability of a-IGZO films for the development of flexible electronics.The authors would like to thank DuPont-Teijin for donating polymer samples. We would also like to thank Mr. Frank Biddlestone for his technical support and Mr. Warren Hay for his help in the workshop. Financial support from the Kurdistan Regional Government HCDP programme is gratefully acknowledged. The atomic force microscope used in this research was obtained, through Birmingham Science City: Innovative Uses for Advanced Materials in the Modern World (West Midlands Centre for Advanced Materials Project 2), with support from Advantage West Midlands (AWM) (DD-07) and partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (SY/SP80). R.W. gratefully acknowledges funding from the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Photonic Systems Development.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2015.09.05

Cetuximab Conjugated with Octreotide and Entrapped Calcium Alginate-beads for Targeting Somatostatin Receptors.

There is a need to formulate oral cetuximab (CTX) for targeting colorectal cancer, which is reported to express somatostatin receptors (SSTRs). Therefore, coating CTX with a somatostatin analogue such as octreotide (OCT) is beneficial. Alginate was used to coat CTX to facilitate delivery to the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). This study aimed to deliver CTX conjugated with OCT in the form of microparticles as a GIT-targeted SSTR therapy. Both CTX and OCT were conjugated using a solvent evaporation method and the conjugated CTX-OCT was then loaded onto Ca-alginate-beads (CTX-OCT-Alg), which were characterized for drug interactions using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR). Moreover, the morphology of formulated beads was examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The drug content and release profile were studied using UV spectroscopy. Finally, in vitro cytotoxicity of all compounds was evaluated. The results showed homogenous conjugated CTX-OCT with a diameter of 0.4 mm. DSC showed a delay in the OCT peak that appeared after 200 °C due to small polymer interaction that shifted the OCT peak. Moreover, FTIR showed no prominent interaction. SEM showed clear empty cavities in the plain Ca-alginate-beads, while CTX-OCT-Alg showed occupied beads without cavities. CTX-OCT-Alg had a negligible release in 0.1 N HCl, while the CTX-OCT was completely released after 300 min in phosphate buffer pH 7.4. All formulations showed good antiproliferative activity compared with free drugs. The formulated CTX-OCT-Alg are a promising platform for targeting colorectal cancer through GIT

Factors influencing physical activity in pregnancy : a systematic review

Lack of physical activity in pregnancy may lead to poor maternal and perinatal outcomes including gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders and postpartum depression. Given these risks, identifying factors that influence physical activity in pregnancy is crucial to planning and implementing appropriate interventional programmes and managing this vulnerable group. Peer reviewed articles on factors influencing physical activity in pregnancy were searched using the Pub-Med and Ovid databases, from 2014 to 2019. The selected articles were reviewed by two authors and critically appraised using the Mixed Methods Assessment Tool 2018. A total of 16 articles were included. Factors that positively influenced physical activity in pregnancy were fun, higher economic status, early trimester, and higher body weight. Factors that negatively influenced physical activity in pregnancy were lack of knowledge, lack of social support, multiparity, physical pain and discomfort, ethnic minority status, and concern for the safety of the baby. Fun was one of the most reported motivators of physical activity in pregnancy, and the most reported reason for reduced physical activity was lack of knowledge. Additionally, social support from friends and family played an important role in encouraging pregnant women to be active. This systematic review highlights the need to improve current health education programmes for physical activity in pregnancy, which should ideally be extended and targeted to the whole community, beyond pregnant women themselves for better uptake and acceptance

Insecticide susceptibility status of Phlebotomus (Paraphlebotomus) sergenti and Phlebotomus (Phlebotomus) papatasi in endemic foci of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Morocco

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Morocco, cutaneous leishmaniasis is transmitted by <it>Phlebotomus sergenti </it>and <it>Ph. papatasi</it>. Vector control is mainly based on environmental management but indoor residual spraying with synthetic pyrethroids is applied in many foci of <it>Leishmania tropica</it>. However, the levels and distribution of sandfly susceptibility to insecticides currently used has not been studied yet. Hence, this study was undertaken to establish the susceptibility status of <it>Ph. sergenti </it>and <it>Ph. papatasi </it>to lambdacyhalothrin, DDT and malathion.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The insecticide susceptibility status of <it>Ph. sergenti </it>and <it>Ph. papatasi </it>was assessed during 2011, following the standard WHO technique based on discriminating dosage. A series of twenty-five susceptibility tests were carried out on wild populations of <it>Ph. sergenti </it>and <it>Ph. papatasi </it>collected by CDC light traps from seven villages in six different provinces. Knockdown rates (KDT) were noted at 5 min intervals during the exposure to DDT and to lambdacyhalothrin. After one hour of exposure, sandflies were transferred to the observation tubes for 24 hours. After this period, mortality rate was calculated. Data were analyzed by Probit analysis program to determine the knockdown time 50% and 90% (KDT50 and KDT90) values.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Study results showed that <it>Ph.sergenti </it>and <it>Ph. papatasi </it>were susceptible to all insecticides tested. Comparison of KDT values showed a clear difference between the insecticide knockdown effect in studied villages. This effect was lower in areas subject to high selective public health insecticide pressure in the framework of malaria or leishmaniasis control.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>Phlebotomus sergenti </it>and <it>Ph. papatasi </it>are susceptible to the insecticides tested in the seven studied villages but they showed a low knockdown effect in Azilal, Chichaoua and Settat. Therefore, a study of insecticide susceptibility of these vectors in other foci of leishmaniasis is recommended and the level of their susceptibility should be regularly monitored.</p

The pathology of familial breast cancer: Immunohistochemistry and molecular analysis

Extensive studies of BRCA1- and BRCA2-associated breast tumours have been carried out in the few years since the identification of these familial breast cancer predisposing genes. The morphological studies suggest that BRCA1 tumours differ from BRCA2 tumours and from sporadic breast cancers. Recent progress in immunohistochemistry and molecular biology techniques has enabled in-depth investigation of molecular pathology of these tumours. Studies to date have investigated issues such as steroid hormone receptor expression, mutation status of tumour suppressor genes TP53 and c-erbB2, and expression profiles of cell cycle proteins p21, p27 and cyclin D(1). Despite relative paucity of data, strong evidence of unique biological characteristics of BRCA1-associated breast cancer is accumulating. BRCA1-associated tumours appear to show an increased frequency of TP53 mutations, frequent p53 protein stabilization and absence of imunoreactivity for steroid hormone receptors. Further studies of larger number of samples of both BRCA1- and BRCA2-associated tumours are necessary to clarify and confirm these observations

Insecticide resistance in the sand fly, Phlebotomus papatasi from Khartoum State, Sudan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Phlebotomus papatasi </it>the vector of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is the most widely spread sand fly in Sudan. No data has previously been collected on insecticide susceptibility and/or resistance of this vector, and a first study to establish a baseline data is reported here.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sand flies were collected from Surogia village, (Khartoum State), Rahad Game Reserve (eastern Sudan) and White Nile area (Central Sudan) using light traps. Sand flies were reared in the Tropical Medicine Research Institute laboratory. The insecticide susceptibility status of first progeny (F1) of <it>P. papatasi </it>of each population was tested using WHO insecticide kits. Also, <it>P. papatasi </it>specimens from Surogia village and Rahad Game Reserve were assayed for activities of enzyme systems involved in insecticide resistance (acetylcholinesterase (AChE), non-specific carboxylesterases (EST), glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) and cytochrome p450 monooxygenases (Cyt p450).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Populations of <it>P. papatasi </it>from White Nile and Rahad Game Reserve were sensitive to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), permethrin, malathion, and propoxur. However, the <it>P. papatasi </it>population from Surogia village was sensitive to DDT and permethrin but highly resistant to malathion and propoxur. Furthermore, <it>P. papatasi </it>of Surogia village had significantly higher insecticide detoxification enzyme activity than of those of Rahad Game Reserve. The sand fly population in Surogia displayed high AChE activity and only three specimens had elevated levels for EST and GST.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The study provided evidence for malathion and propoxur resistance in the sand fly population of Surogia village, which probably resulted from anti-malarial control activities carried out in the area during the past 50 years.</p

Prevalence and phase variable expression status of two autotransporters, NalP and MspA, in carriage and disease isolates of Neisseria meningitidis.

Neisseria meningitidis is a human nasopharyngeal commensal capable of causing life-threatening septicemia and meningitis. Many meningococcal surface structures, including the autotransporter proteins NalP and MspA, are subject to phase variation (PV) due to the presence of homopolymeric tracts within their coding sequences. The functions of MspA are unknown. NalP proteolytically cleaves several surface-located virulence factors including the 4CMenB antigen NhbA. Therefore, NalP is a phase-variable regulator of the meningococcal outer membrane and secretome whose expression may reduce isolate susceptibility to 4CMenB-induced immune responses. To improve our understanding of the contributions of MspA and NalP to meningococcal-host interactions, their distribution and phase-variable expression status was studied in epidemiologically relevant samples, including 127 carriage and 514 invasive isolates representative of multiple clonal complexes and serogroups. Prevalence estimates of >98% and >88% were obtained for mspA and nalP, respectively, with no significant differences in their frequencies in disease versus carriage isolates. 16% of serogroup B (MenB) invasive isolates, predominately from clonal complexes ST-269 and ST-461, lacked nalP. Deletion of nalP often resulted from recombination events between flanking repetitive elements. PolyC tract lengths ranged from 6-15 bp in nalP and 6-14 bp in mspA. In an examination of PV status, 58.8% of carriage, and 40.1% of invasive nalP-positive MenB isolates were nalP phase ON. The frequency of this phenotype was not significantly different in serogroup Y (MenY) carriage strains, but was significantly higher in invasive MenY strains (86.3%; p<0.0001). Approximately 90% of MenB carriage and invasive isolates were mspA phase ON; significantly more than MenY carriage (32.7%) or invasive (13.7%) isolates. This differential expression resulted from different mode mspA tract lengths between the serogroups. Our data indicates a differential requirement for NalP and MspA expression in MenB and MenY strains and is a step towards understanding the contributions of phase-variable loci to meningococcal biology