Background
The interest in larvicides of plant origin is generally renewed in vector control because of their safety compared to synthetic larvicides. However, there are concerns about the relative safety dose of these phytochemicals on non-target organisms which led to the development of plant derived nanoparticles. In this study, we examined the bioefficacy of low doses of two green synthesized nanoparticles on immature stages of Anopheles mosquitoes in Nigeria. Aqueous plants (Moringa oleifera and Ficus exasperata) extracts were used in the biosynthesis. The prepared Ag-NPs were characterizations using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-Vis spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Third and early fourth instars of known susceptible laboratory strains of Anopheles gambiae s.s. (KISUMU strains) and pyrethroid resistant field strain of An. gambiae were exposed to serial dilutions of 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0 and 2.5 ppm of each phyto nanoparticles. Moribund and dead larvae were observed after 24 and 48 h post exposure, and the results were analysed with descriptive statistics.
Results
With the laboratory mosquitoes, Moringa oleifera AgNP effected high mortalities of 88–100% (LC50 = 0.39 ppm; LC95 = 0.62 ppm) at 24 h post exposure except at the lowest concentration, while Ficus exasperate AgNP induced a 32–100% mortality (LC50 = 0.51 ppm; LC95 = 1.15 ppm) except at the lowest concentration. In the field populations, mortality in Moringa oleifera and Ficus exasperata was 23–93% (LC50 = 0.65 ppm; LC95 = 2.28 ppm) and 37–50% (LC50 = 1.51 ppm; LC95 = 391.64 ppm) respectively. There was no significant difference in mortality values between the laboratory and field strains (P < 0.05) at both 24 and 48 h post exposure times.
Conclusions
Overall, the study demonstrates the bioefficacy and potential use of green synthesized nanoparticles, at very low concentrations for the control of Anopheles larvae even in areas where resistance to the current chemical insecticides have been reported.
A new panel of "Latin" or Iberian-Guanche rock inscriptions has been found in Tenerife, a transcription and translation hypotheses have been put forward based on a methodology involving semantics and phonology of Basque and ancient Iberian language (used during the 1 st millennium BC in Iberia and France).
Objective
Acute febrile infections compatible with malaria are the most prevalent presentation at sub-Saharan African health clinics, accounting for 30–50% of outpatient visits. Acute human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection can mimic acute malaria symptoms. As a result, screening people with malaria symptoms for HIV infection is critical. The goal of our study was to find out how common HIV infection was among feverish patients.
Results
Out of the 310 individuals screened, 9 (3.0%) had HIV-1 infection, with 5 (55.5%) being females and 4 (44.4%) being males. This study found no evidence of HIV-2 infection or HIV-1/HIV-2 co-infection. HIV infection was found in 1–3% of patients with probable malaria at different sites in Lagos, Nigeria.
There is an ever increasing demand for industrial enzymes for different applications to satisfy the needs of the world's ever‐growing population. Nigeria currently is at a precipice and urgent measures are needed for self‐sustainability in a distressed economy for most of her industrial processes. The progression of synthetic biology techniques has been a continuous driving force for sustainable development on industrial enzymes. Lipases (EC 3.1.1.3) are important biocatalysts due to their utility in various industrial applications. For industrial processes, it is necessary to define the best set of conditions for cell growth, protein induction and recovery. This work therefore investigates the conditions necessary for optimum expression of novel recombinant lipase (sourced originally from marine sponge Haliclona simulans metagenome) in Escherichia coli.A codon‐optimized gene that codes for lipase Lpc53E1, a member of the group VIII family of lipases from Haliclona simulans was heterologously expressed in E. coli by induction of graded concentrations (0.1 mM, 0.25 mM, 0.5 mM and 1 mM) of Isopropyl β‐D‐1‐thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) when the cell's density (OD600) reached 0.4, 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7 accordingly. Analysis of the SDS‐PAGE revealed the presence of lipase with an approximate molecular weight (MW) of 44 kDa. The recombinant lipase exhibited a higher halo‐tolerance and thermostable properties up to 60°C when the cell density reached 0.7 OD600 after induction with 0.5 mM IPTG. A novel and newly formulated inexpensive media for cell growth of the E. coli culture showed distinct colonies comparable to the LB control. This suggests an alternative and cheaper media for this microbial culture. Thus this inexpensive media from locally sourced materials would reduce the cost of operations in industries requiring lipase in developing countries.Support or Funding InformationThe grant for this research was awarded by the Central Research Committee, University of Lagos, Nigeria (CRC, 2017/01)This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.
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