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Pumpkins (Cucurbita pepo) are grown all around the world for a variety of reasons ranging from agricultural purposes to commercial and ornamental sales. The pathogens causing the rot of pumpkin in the world include fungi, bacteria, and viruses. The study was aim to identify fungal pathogens of pumpkin rot during storage, as well as control measures of the diseases using wood ash, mango leaf and rice chaff. Three hundred and sixty-six (366) fruits of pumpkins were studied in Pela, Gaya and Kulinyi districts of Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State. The diseased samples (fruits) were randomly purchased. Of all the districts visited, Kulinyi has the highest percentage of disease samples (43.82%) while the least is Gaya district with 21.35%. Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) was used for the isolation of pathogens and these gave Fusarium solani, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, and Phytophthora capsici. All the fungal isolates exhibited different degree of pathogenic effect on the pumpkin fruits. The pathogens are susceptible to treatment both In-vitro and In-vivo control trials with wood ash and mango leaf at p ≤ 0.05. Inhibition improved with increased in concentration of the wood ash and mango leaf. Rice chaff treatment equally proved worthwhile with significant inhibition compared to the control at p ≤ 0.05.

Cowpea plants naturally infected with cowpea mosaic comovirus (CPMV) showed different mosaic, mottle, dwarfing, and vain clearing symptoms. Diseased plants were ollected from certain locations of Alexandria and El-Beheira governorates during the growing seasons from 2011 to 2012. CPMV was detected in infected sap at 8 to 24 days after inoculation by DBIA, indirect ELISA and tissue blot immunoassay (TBIA). Chlorotic local lesions were observed on Chenopodium amaranticolor in infectivity test. By using indirect ELISA and DBIA, CPMV were detected in infected plant sap of serial dilutions up to 1: 400. The incidence of CPMV in 21 day old cowpea seedlings grown from infected seeds was determined by ELISA and positive detection of virus antigen reached 65%. Nitrocellulose membrane and canson paper could be used as solid carriers in TBIA and DBIA for detection of CPMV in infected plant tissues. Results revealed that both faces of nitrocellulose membrane and canson paper could be used as solid carriers in TBIA for detection of CPMV in infected plant tissues. According to reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay of CPMV infected plant; the amplified product was approximately 800bp of partial coat protein gene. The nucleotide sequences accession number were LN606585 and LN606586. The phylogenetic tree was generated using sequences of CPMV isolates with the other CPMV records from GenBank.

Goosegrass (Eleusine indica L. Gaertn.) is a troublesome weed in turfgrass systems throughout the world. The development of herbicide resistant ecotypes has occurred to multiple modes of action. Goosegrass is a prolific seed producer (~50,000 per plant), fast growing and diverse weed. Such growing attributes make it essential to have a better understanding of the genetic diversity of various ecotypes. The objectives of this study were to determine if morphologically distinct goosegrass ecotypes collected in Florida were phenotypically distinct and genetically different. Phenotypically, the goosegrass ecotypes can be classified as follows; dwarf, intermediate 1 (int_I), intermediate 2 (int_II) and wild. The dwarf had the least seedheads followed by the wild ecotype; 5 and 17 respectively, while int_I and int_II had highest number of seedheads; 22 and 34 respectively. The dwarf ecotype had lowest height of 6 cm and the wild ecotype had highest height of 36 cm. Dwarf and int_II ecotypes had shortest internode length of 0.2 cm and 1 cm, respectively, while the wild ecotype had longest internode length of 7 cm. The dwarf ecotype had lowest number of racemes per plant of 1, while the wild ecotype had highest number of racemes per plant of 7. Total biomass was lowest for the dwarf and int_II ecotype; 0.7 g and 1.5 g, respectively, and total biomass was highest for the wild ecotype at 5 g. Gene sequencing of two rice (Oryza) gene sequences (accession AP014964 (gene A) and AP014965 (gene B)) and subsequent phylogenetic analysis suggest the ecotypes are genetically different. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of interest were discovered indicating allelic differences between ecotypes.

The use of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of plant viruses is well documented. It proved to be a very valuable detection tools for the plant viruses. The efficiency of the ELISA technique was for practical purpose independent of the ratio of antibodies to antigen. This avoids the necessity of making specific enzyme conjugates for each antigen to be tested and eliminates the extreme specificity, thus allowing for quantitative evaluation of strain relationships. The advantages of indirect ELISA are sample. It needs only to be macerated and added to the plate. The crude antiserum could be used, although it should be cross absorbed before to prevent spurious host reaction. Single commercially available second antibody conjugate is utilized, thus eliminating the problems of preparing and storing many different conjugated antisera. Blotting technique has become widely used for specific identification of nucleic acid and proteins. This dot assay was modified to detect protein by spotting the antigen on a nitrocellulose membrane and incubating the membrane in test antibody followed by incubation in peroxidase-conjugated second antibody to the first antibody, and by development in 4-chloro-1-naphthol. The above procedure termed dot blot immunobinding assay (DBIA). The technique of tissue blotting on nitrocellulose membrane was described for detection of plant viruses in infected plants. Tissue blots were made by pressing with a firm and gentile force, the freshly cut tissue surface on nitrocellulose membranes. The possibility of using both sides of the nitrocellulose membrane (NCM) by tissue blot immuno assay (TBIA) for the detection plant viruses. In an effort to reduce the cost of virus assays, different types of regular paper were evaluated as possible replacements for the commonly used nitrocellulose membrane (NCM) as the solid phase in the tissue-blot immunoassay (TBIA) were used. Comparisons between different serological methods were demonstrated by many investigators Dot immunobinding was eight times more sensitive for detection of PVX and four times more sensitive for detection of PVS and PVY than DAS-ELISA.

Physicochemical and pharmacological studies indicated that Filicium decipiens seeds contained various specialized metabolites, including saponins. The aim of this work is to reveal the nephrotoxicity of FDS, a saponin isolated from Filicium decipiens seeds on male Wistar rats histopathological and biochemical parameters. Rats were submitted to oral ingestion of FDS (6.0 mg/kg) and crude extract (120.0 mg/kg) and were observed high levels of urea and creatinine in blood analyses of all animals followed by an acute renal failure by glomerular retraction. In the present study, FDS and crude extract when administered in Wistar rats induced an increase of serum levels of Urea and Creatinine, biochemical markers of kidney function. Table 1 shows Urea concentration at Test group with FDS (54.3 ± 1.80 mg/ml) and Test group with crude extract (49.7 ± 2.00 mg/ml), were 47% and 34.7% higher, respectively, when compared to control group (36.9 ± 2.00 mg/ml), and Creatinine at the test group with FDS (2.1 ± 0.03 mg/ml) and test group with crude extract (1.6 ± 0.09 mg/ml) presented a value 3.5 and 2.8 times higher, respectively, than control (0.6 ± 0.08 mg/ml). Based on these results, our data demonstrate a significant effect in renal function of rats treated with F. decipiens saponin.

The nematicidal efficacy of abamectin, boron, chitosan, hydrogen peroxide, Bacillus thuringiensis and oxamyl 24% SL against citrus nematode, Tylenchulus semipenetrans were examined on Valencia orange trees under field condition for two successive seasons (2017 and 2018). The experiment was conducted in a Valencia orange orchard infested with citrus nematode at Nubaria, El-Behera governorate, Egypt. The obtained results showed that all the tested treatments reduced nematode final population ((Pf) and reproduction factor (Rf) compared with that obtained from the untreated trees. The highest percentages of Pf reductions (74.5-83.4 %) and (70%-82%) were recorded with oxamyl, boron, abamectin, chitosan and H2O2 in the 1st and the 2nd tested seasons, respectively. Whereas, B. thuringiensis had the least nematode Pf reduction with 60.7 and 55.8% in the 1st and 2nd seasons, respectively. Additionally, all treatments significantly improved orange yield (30.9-83.2% increase), physical fruit parameters and orange juice properties. The highest orange yield increase (83.2%) was recorded with boron treatment followed by oxamyl (70.3%). Also, boron increased total soluble solids (TSS) by 13.6%, volume of orange juice (36.4%) and vitamin C (19.7%) and decreased juice acidity (A) by (16.7%). It is concluded that abamectin, boron and the other tested compounds have potential as non-chemical control strategy tools in managing the citrus nematode. These bioagents reduced the amount of traditional chemical nematicides and are considered to be environmentally safe.

Background: Outcomes of chemotherapy in adults with ALL in resource-poor countries are reportedly worse compared with outcomes in resource-rich countries. There are few comparative data on transplants in these settings.Methods: Retrospective analysis of 102 consecutive subjects > 18 years with ALL receiving an allotransplant from Jan 2007 to Sept 2022 in Jordan.Results: Median follow-up is 38 mo ([IQR] 16-80 mo). 81 subjects were men. The median age was 29 y(IQR 22-36 y). 63 were B-cell and 38, were T-cell lineage. 31 had the Ph-chromosome. 68 were in 1st and 34, ≥ 2nd histological complete remission. 97 received intensive conditioning. Donors were an HLA-identical sibling (N = 88) or an HLA-mis-matched relative (N = 14). Grafts were blood cells. Subjects received conventional GvHD prophylaxis, cyclophosphamide (N = 11) or ATG (N = 3). All subjects recovered bone marrow function with complete donor chimerism. 5-year leukemia-free survival (LFS), 58% (47, 69%) and survival, 45% (34, 56%). 45 subjects developed acute and 44, cGvHD. 3-year cumulative incidence of cGvHD was 28% (15, 42%). 5-year CIR was 32% (18, 45%) and 3-year NRM, 25% (15, 35%).Conclusion: Allotransplant outcomes in adults with ALL in Jordan, a resource-poor country, seem comparable to those reported in resource-rich countries.

Dentistry has much to offer in the detection and solution of crime or civil proceedings. Forensic dentistry requires an interdisciplinary knowledge of dental science, and it is the role of the Forensic Odontologist to establish a person's identity. Teeth, with their physiologic variations, pathosis record information that remains throughout life and beyond. Forensic Odontology has an important role in the recognition of abuse among children. Teeth may also be used as a weapon against children, and physical evidence such as DNA, bite marks, fingerprints may objectively link suspects to a crime and develop important investigative leads. Gender identification and sex determination by analyzing the pulp tissue in primary teeth can be regarded as an effective tool in providing valuable forensic information. The rights of children and their aspirations are of paramount importance, and the Pediatric dentist can contribute immensely to the field of Forensic Odontology in providing justice to these unfortunate children.

Introduction: Extracellular Traps (ETs) are fibers composed of chromatin and cytoplasmic proteins, which can trap and kill pathogens by the phenomenon called ETosis. They are released by neutrophils, macrophages, and monocytes, and can be found in semen. The aim of this presentation is to evidence of the indirect effect of SARS-CoV-2 in semen by ETs.Patients and methods: Experimental design: retrospective descriptive observational study.Semen samples from two groups were studied following WHO guidelines: 1) SARS-CoV-2 infected donors (n: 5; at 7, 15, 30, 60, and 90 days after PCR diagnosis); 2) COVID-19 positive patients assisted in our laboratory between 2021 and 2022 (n: 70). They were observed in fresh and in Papanicolaou-stained smears by CASA and light microscopy; the presence of macrophages, spermiophages, ETs and hyperviscosity were recorded while neutrophilic concentration was calculated. Two control groups were designed: a) Patients belonging to group 2, studied before de pandemia (n: 13); b) Culture-negative semen samples (n: 28).Results: In the first group, ETs were observed in all the samples, while only 18% had leucospermia. Macrophages, spermiophages, and hyperviscosity were recorded in 68%, 27%, and 36% of the studied cases respectively.In the second group, ETs were present 100% in the acute phase (< 90 days after diagnosis) and decreased to 71% in the later stage (90 to 270 days). The trapped sperm were non-progressive motile or immotile alive or dead.No traps were found in either control group.Conclusion: In our study ETs were the most sensitive seminal marker of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Magnusiomyces capitatus is a rare cause of invasive fungal infection in immuno-compromised patients. We report the case of magnusiomyces infection of the central nervous system, the lungs and sinus with a palatal lesion, in a patient treated for acute myeloid leukemia. While Magnusiomyces infections pose diagnostic and therapeutic challenges, a comprehensive understanding of their epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and microbiological aspects is essential to guide effective management. The patient improved under antifungal treatments despite a reduced sensitivity of the different antifungals to the antifungogram. The important delays between chemotherapy cycles and its reduced intensity due to the Magnusiomyces infection has made managing the anticancer treatment more challenging.