Mining Favorable Alleles for Rice Coleoptile Elongation Length Sensitivity to Exogenous Gibberellin Under Submergence Condition

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - High sensitivity of rice coleoptile elongation length to exogenous gibberellin is a beneficial trait to utilize superior rice cultivars that could not be used...     

Differential pathogenesis of closely related 2018 Nigerian outbreak clade III Lassa virus isolates

Nigeria continues to experience ever increasing annual outbreaks of Lassa fever (LF). The World Health Organization has recently declared Lassa virus (LASV) as a priority pathogen for accelerated research leading to a renewed international effort to develop relevant animal models of disease and effective countermeasures to reduce LF morbidity and mortality in endemic West African countries. A limiting factor in evaluating medical countermeasures against LF is a lack of well characterized animal models outside of those based on infection with LASV strain Josiah originating form Sierra Leone, circa 1976. Here we genetically characterize five recent LASV isolates collected from the 2018 outbreak in Nigeria. Three isolates were further evaluated in vivo and despite being closely related and from the same spatial / geographic region of Nigeria, only one of the three isolates proved lethal in strain 13 guinea pigs and non-human primates (NHP). Additionally, this isolate exhibited atypical pathogenesis characteristics in the NHP model, most notably respiratory failure, not commonly described in hemorrhagic cases of LF. These results suggest that there is considerable phenotypic heterogeneity in LASV infections in Nigeria, which leads to a multitude of pathogenesis characteristics that could account for differences between subclinical and lethal LF infections. Most importantly, the development of disease models using currently circulating LASV strains in West Africa are critical for the evaluation of potential vaccines and medical countermeasures.     

Decline of Supportive Attitudes among Husbands toward Female Genital Mutilation and Its Association to Those Practices in Yemen

Objectives

To elucidate the attitudes of women and their husband’s towards female genital mutilation (FGM) and their associations with the continuation of FGM upon their daughters.

Methods

Subjects were 10,345 (in 1997) and 11,252 (in 2003) ever married women aged 15 to 49 years from the Yemen Demographic Health Surveys. Performances of FGM on the most-recently-born daughters were investigated. Attitudes of women and their husbands were assessed by their opinions on the continuation of FGM. The association between the attitudes of women and their husbands and performance of FGM on the most-recently-born daughters were investigated after adjusting for age and education of the women.

Findings

The percentage among the most-recently-born daughters who received FGM of women who had undergone FGM declined from 61.9% in 1997 to 56.5% in 2003 (p<0.001). The percentages of women who had undergone FGM and who supported the continuation of FGM and of husbands who also supported its continuation decreased from 78.2% and 60.1% in 1997 to 70.9% and 49.5% in 2003, respectively (both p<0.001). When the women or the husbands did not agree with FGM, it was less likely to be performed on their daughter than when the women or the husbands agreed in 1997 (odds ratio=0.11, 95% confidence interval 0.07-0.16 and odds ratio=0.07, 95% confidence interval 0.04-0.12, respectively) and in 2003 (odds ratio=0.12, 95% confidence interval 0.09-0.16 and odds ratio=0.11, 95% confidence interval 0.07-0.16, respectively).

Conclusion

Non-supportive attitudes of women and their husbands towards the continuation of FGM have become common and were associated with their decision not to perform FGM upon their daughters.     

Effect of constant temperatures on development of the walnut husk fly,Rhagoletis completa

The developmental rates of various life stages ofRhagoletis completa Cresson (Diptera: Tephritidae) were determined in the laboratory at seven different constant temperatures: 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, and 32±1°C, RH 80±10%, photoperiod L 16∶D8. Preoviposition developmental rate was fastest at 28°C (10±1 days, mean±SD) and slowest at 12°C (26±1 days). About 83% of the females deposited eggs at 20 and 24°C and only 25% oviposited at 32°C. Females laid the highest number of eggs at 24°C and the lowest at 8°C. Egg development increased with increasing temperatures up to 28°C, then declined. The fastest egg development was noticed at 28°C (55±1 h) and slowest at 8°C (389±2 h). Over 90% egg hatch was observed at temperatures between 12 and 32°C, but decreased to 73% at 8°C. Larval development was fastest also at 28°C (20±0.2 days). Over 65% pupation was recorded at 20 and 24°C, but decreased to 15% at 32°C and 12% at 8°C. Pupal development was most rapid at 24°C (53±1 days) and slowest at 8°C (162±2 days). More than 70% of adult emergence was noticed in treatments between 16 and 24°C but decreased to 20% at 8°C. Based on a linear regression model of temperature-development rate relationship, the lower developmental thresholds were determined to be 6.6, 5.3, 2.9, and 5°C for preoviposition, egg, larval, and pupal stages, respectively. Based on a non-linear developmental rate model, the upper developmental thresholds were 34°C for preoviposition, egg, and larval stages and 30°C for pupal stage.