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Mohammed Ahmed, Desalegn Admassu, Degu Abate Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Mohammed Ahmed Aliyi, Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, P.O. Box 235, Harar, Ethiopia, Tel +251-921-658-970, Email mameahmed129@gmail.comBackground: Bacterial vaginosis is one of the most common causes of abnormal vaginal discharge in women of reproductive age, especially pregnant women. It is characterized by the decrement of lactobacilli and increasing proliferation of diverse anaerobic bacteria. The prevalence of bacterial vaginosis and contributing factors vary between countries, within the same country, and among different populations.Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care from May 5–July 15, 2021 in health-care facilities found in Harar town, eastern Ethiopia.Methods and Materials: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 248 pregnant women attending antenatal care through systematic random sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and two vaginal swabs were collected using sterile swabs and transported to the microbiology laboratory. Samples were analyzed using Amsel’s criteria or using Nugent scoring criteria and culture. Data were entered into EpiData version 3.1 and transferred to SPSS version 25 for analysis. Binary logistic regression was used to identify variables associated with bacterial vaginosis. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Altogether 248 pregnant women were included in the study. Overall, 21.4% (95% CI: 16, 27) of study participants had bacterial vaginosis. History of sexually transmitted infection (AOR = 6.0, 95% CI: 1.94, 19.07; P = 0.002), history of spontaneous abortion (AOR = 5.8, 95% CI: 1.55, 22.02; P = 0.009), multiple sex partners (AOR = 8.6, 95% CI: 2.93, 25.79; P = 0.000) and having vaginal discharge (AOR = 5.5, 95% CI: 2.48, 12.41; P = 0.000) were significantly associated with bacterial vaginosis.Conclusion: The prevalence of bacterial vaginosis is higher among symptomatic pregnant women and associated with a history of sexually transmitted infection, vaginal discharge, multiple sexual partners and spontaneous abortion.Keywords: bacterial vaginosis, lactobacilli, G. vaginalis, Amsel’s criteria, Nugent scoring system

Anwar Shakir,1 Degu Abate,2 Fikru Tebeje,2 Fitsum Weledegebreal2 1Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Jugal Regional Hospital, Harar, Ethiopia; 2Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Health and Medical Science, Haramaya University, Harar, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Fitsum Weledegebreal Email fwmlab2000@gmail.comBackground: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are infections that occur one month after a surgical operation or one year after implant surgery and a surgical procedure, either at the injury site or near the injury site. Surgical site infections are still a major global problem, especially in developing countries, where they cause increased morbidity and mortality. There is a dearth of information regarding SSIs in the eastern Ethiopia, particularly in this study area.Objective: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of SSIs, bacterial etiologies, associated factors, and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of isolates among post-operated patients admitted to public hospitals in the Harari Region, eastern Ethiopia.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 306 patients who had undergone surgery. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used for assessing the sociodemographic and clinical factors. Following standard microbiological techniques, wound swabs and pus specimens were collected and transported to Harar Health Research and Regional Laboratory for isolation, identification of bacteria, and antibiotic susceptibility test. Data were double entered onto Epi Data version 3.5.1 software and transferred to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20.0 for analysis. P-value < 0.05 was declared as statistical significant.Results: In this study, the overall prevalence of surgical site infection was 11.8% (95% CI: 8.3– 15.4%) and Staphylococcus aureus (30.3%) was the most frequent isolate. Both S. aureus and coagulase negative Staphylococci were 100% resistant to penicillin. Wound with drain (AOR = 24.538; 95% CI: 10.053– 59.898), being diabetic patient (AOR = 7.457, 95% CI 2.893– 19.221), age > 60 years (AOR = 4.139, 95% CI 1.278– 13.40), surgical procedure duration of more than 2 hours (AOR = 0.159, 95% CI 0.040, 0.630), being alcohol drinker (AOR = 2.58, 95% CI 1.091– 6.102) and having dirty surgical wound (AOR = 9.026; 95% CI: 3.503– 23.255) were factors significantly associated with SSIs.Conclusion: In this study, single and multiple drug resistance to the commonly used antibiotics was high. Therefore, intensifying the implementation of infection prevention and patient safety measures and identifying an etiological cause may minimize the burden.Keywords: surgical site infections, bacterial etiologies, associated factors, eastern Ethiopia

Dessale Abate,1 Munir Awol Aman,2 Beshir Bedru Nasir,1 Girma Tekle Gebremariam,1 Atalay Mulu Fentie1 1Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 2Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Adult Oncology Center, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Atalay Mulu Fentie PO Box: 1176 Tel +251923295462Email atalay.mulu@aau.edu.etBackground: Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. It results in considerable mental, physical, and emotional stress for patients. Because of the nature and impact of the disease, and its treatment, measurements of patient satisfaction are important to bring to the attention of health-care providers in order to improve care.Objective: To assess patient satisfaction at the adult oncology center of Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia using the EORTC PATSAT-C33 tool.Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2019 to May 2019. A consecutive sampling technique was employed to recruit a total of 384 study participants. Informed consent was obtained for each participant and data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Ethical clearance and approval of the study protocol were obtained from the institutional ethics review board of the school of pharmacy. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize the data, while multivariate linear regression analysis was employed to explore factors affecting patient satisfaction. P< 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results: Among a total of 384 study participants, the majority were female (65.9%) and the median age was 49 years. In most (65.9%) participants, the health-care service cost was covered by patients themselves; the majority of them were treated for gynecological malignancy (37.2%) and most received chemotherapy + surgery (37.2%). The mean score for the EORTC-PATSAT33 scales for overall satisfaction was 44.8 out of 100. Place of residence, gender, type of cancer, duration since treatment started, age and source of health-care costs were factors associated with patient satisfaction and all together explained 83% (adjusted R square=0.830, P< 0.0001) of variance. Of these, residence (where patients came from) accounted for most (78.7%) of the variance (adjusted R square=0.787, P< 0.0001).Conclusion: The mean overall satisfaction of patients with the services provided at the outpatient adult oncology center of TASH was significantly lower than previously reported in the world literature, which was > 70. Hence, a concerted effort must be made to understand and improve patient satisfaction in oncology health-care services in Ethiopia.Keywords: adult oncology, cancer care, patient satisfaction, EORTC PATSAT-C33

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to be highly effective in detecting and monitoring illegal trafficking of cultural heritage (CH) goods through image classification techniques, particularly on online marketplaces where the trade of stolen CH objects has become a major global issue. Traditional investigation methods are no longer adequate, but with the assistance of AI, law enforcement agencies and CH organizations can now boost monitoring capabilities to detect, track, and possibly recover stolen objects more efficiently. AI algorithms can indeed analyze images to identify unique features and characteristics that can be used to determine their authenticity and provenance. Additionally, AI can detect patterns and networks of illicit trafficking, and link stolen objects to their places of origin, facilitating the recovery process. In this context, the SIGNIFICANCE project (Stop Illicit Heritage Trafficking with Artificial Intelligence) has been specifically designed to increase the response capabilities of public authorities and police corps against the illicit trafficking of cultural goods perpetrated through internet channels (i.e., social platforms, web, and dark web). By leveraging the power of Deep Learning (DL), AI can help prevent the loss of invaluable cultural artifacts and ensure that they are returned to their rightful owners and places of origin. This paper presents the results reached by the SIGNIFICANCE AI framework on image datasets collected over the web and social media through crawling algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inability to prevent or eliminate illicit trafficking of cultural goods is not limited to failed-state environments or any specific part of the globe. While the antiquities market denies that this illicit trade is a widespread phenomenon, the international community and Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) overwhelmingly recognize the problem indicating that organized crime is involved at all stages. Nowadays, web platforms play host to groups dedicated to illegal archaeological excavations and Illicit trade of cultural goods. Looters have the freedom to connect online with potential buyers around the world. At the same time, social media platform monitoring in search of criminal activities conducted by LEAs is poor due to the lack of expertise, efficient tools to scan the massive amounts of data, and funds. The COVID-19 crisis has compounded the problem by driving more and more dealers and buyers online – where they are discovering that by joining certain unmonitored groups, they can enter the illegal market with ease. The EU funded SIGNIFICANCE project (Stop Illicit heritaGe traffickiNg wIth artiFICiAl iNtelligenCE) has been designed to boost LEAs investigation capabilities in monitoring online illegal activities on social media platforms, the web and the dark web for the identification of cultural property crimes, exploiting Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning algorithms for guaranteeing the successful prosecution of perpetrators unveiling criminal networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present a method to compute spatial and time evolution of electromagnetic forces in magnetic confinement fusion devices based on a combination of signal analysis of magnetic measurements with a simple electromagnetic modelling. The method allows analyzing the whole plasma discharge including fast transient phenomena such as fast terminations or disruptions. It has been tested and verified on RFX-mod, an experiment equipped with a non-continuous toroidal passive stabilizing shell, but it can be applied to cases with continuous wall such as tokamak devices, as well. An experimental plasma discharge, with a fast termination phenomenon at the end of the flat-top phase, has been analyzed and the related forces have been computed by using two different sets of data: synthetic magnetic field measurements provided by ANSYS simulation and real experimental ones. The results are in good agreement in all the phases of the plasma discharge. Moreover, because of the very low-computational requirements, it is shown that the presented method can be used as a tool for real-time monitoring of the electromagnetic forces on the shell to be integrated in the protection system of the future RFX-mod2 experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of turbulent filaments in L and ELM-free H-mode in the RFX-mod device operating as a tokamak is discussed in the present work. L-H transition and sustained H-mode have been achieved in the RFX-mod with the aid of an external electrode biasing (Spolaore et al 2017 Nucl. Fusion 57 116039). Through advanced statistical techniques, turbulent filaments are detected and tracked from the edge to the scrape-off layer (SOL) in a two-dimension floating potential map (measured with a 2D array of Langmuir probes) related with extreme events of a fixed ion saturation current signal in the SOL. While in L-mode filaments travel almost freely, their motion becomes restricted to the near SOL during the induced biasing H-mode. In this region, the background shear decorrelation time becomes shorter than the convective filament time, favouring its suppression. However, the experimental observation of a nearly 'trapped' monopole potential points out the possible role of the vortex selection mechanism. The sign and magnitude of the turbulent parallel vorticity are consistent with the E × B background vorticity in the SOL in this regime, while in L-mode, the inferred turbulent vorticity is always above the background one. The sparse filamentary transport in the far SOL during H-mode is further confirmed from the measurements of a poloidally symmetric array of electrostatic sensors on the wall. Lastly, the radial velocity of filaments in both regimes was discussed in the framework of analytical scalings. Filaments in L-mode exhibit a reasonable agreement with the sheath-limited regime in the cold ion approximation, with a non-negligible associated parallel current density measured with a set of 3-axial pick-up coils installed in the probe head. In H-mode, the collisionality increases near the separatrix while filaments seem to follow the inertial regime before become trapped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, DEMO-like shaped plasma equilibria are defined for RFX-mod2 tokamak operations by using the Inverse Equilibrium Tool (IET code). IET allows for the computation of the coil currents needed to obtain a predetermined plasma shape with well defined plasma global parameters (i.e. total plasma current and total poloidal magnetic flux at the boundary) by solving a constrained minimization problem. The new shape conditions would allow achieving higher plasma current and plasma density values at the same toroidal magnetic field and safety factor limits of previous RFX-mod tokamak operations. The feasibility of these new equilibria is explored in terms of coil current requirements and vertical stability analysis. This study shows that RFX-mod2 is a flexible device, able to perform DEMO-like shaped tokamak operations with low requirements on both magnitude and distribution of active coil currents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction into the commercial market of affordable and off-the-shelves Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), have lately boosted the mapping capabilities of archaeologists. Hardware solutions have been indeed supported by more accurate flight planning software allowing to increase the reliability of 3D models in terms of spatial resolution and geometric accuracy. However, during the last decades, aerial photography was mainly performed exploiting imaging sensors mounted on kites, balloons and poles. Although being an affordable and user-friendly solution, the use of these platforms did not allow the collection of images following an ordered data collection, hence introducing factors in the network design which could hamper the photogrammetric reconstruction. This study aims to assess the Bundle Adjustment (BA) accuracy and the reliability of the photogrammetric reconstruction by reprocessing various dataset collected over the UNESCO archaeological site of Khirokitia Vouni (Cyprus) using a commercial software and DBAT (Damped Bundle Adjustment Toolbox). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, considering the various methodological approaches used by the scientific community to study graffiti, there is a need for the improvement of the documentation and analysis workflow that must be addressed. Historic graffiti are recognized by scholars of different disciplines as a relevant and genuine written source, able to provide an insight into the everyday life of the past. Many studies have indeed flourished during the last decades stating the relevance of graffiti as a multidisciplinary source of information and showing, at the same time, the fragmented research scenario due to the lack of reliable and standardized methodologies. Currently, the scientific community involved in the study of graffiti has largely benefited from the use of digital technologies. However, most of the efforts and research projects were focused on the analysis of graffiti immediately visible on the surface or graffiti the position of which was easily identifiable due to the depth and width of the engraving. The proposed study is intended to tackle the documentation pipeline a step earlier than the documentation itself when the graffiti are yet to be identified. The San Marco Basilica in Venice is used as a unique case study for the analysis of non-directly visible-to-human-eye graffiti in a rather challenging environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monilinia spp. are responsible for brown rot decay of stone and pome fruit in the field as well as in postharvest. Monilinia laxa and M. fructigena are considered indigenous to Europe, while M. fructicola is a quarantine pathogen in the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization area included in the A2 List. In Italy, it was first reported in 2009 in Piedmont (northern Italy) and rapidly spread to central Italy. We carried out a monitoring program on the occurrence of Monilinia spp. in southern Italy and a comparative characterization of the three main fungal pathogens. Molecular assays based on direct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time quantitative PCR for molecular identification of Monilinia spp. from rotted fruit were set up, validated, and applied in a monitoring program. Of the tested 519 isolates from 26 orchards, 388 (74.8%) were identified as M. fructicola, 118 (22.7%) as M. laxa, 10(1.9%) as M. fructigena, and 3 (0.6%) were M. polystroma. M. fructicola colonies grew faster and had a higher optimal temperature for growth (26°C) than M. laxa (23°C) and M. fructigena (20°C). No relevant difference in virulence could be observed on artificially inoculated apricot, cherry, and peach fruit. The fungal species showed different responses to fungicides, because M. fructicola was more sensitive than M. laxa, especially to cyflufenamid, and M. fructigena revealed a lower sensitivity to succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (boscalid, fluopyram, and fluxapyroxad) and quinone outside inhibitors (mandestrobin). In summary, the two species M. fructicola and M. polystroma were first detected in southern Italy where M. fructicola has largely displaced the two indigenous pathogens M. laxa and M. fructigena', the relative proportions of the three pathogens in orchards should be considered when defining the management of brown rot of stone fruit due to differences in their responses to fungicides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to propose and validate a methodology which can support forensic technicians while documenting a crime scene, after a contamination event (either accidental or deliberate) has changed its original appearance. Indeed, investigators need fast and automated tools to detect changes that occurred at a scene over time, and solutions to this problem are still an open issue. The contribution of the paper for addressing this need is twofold. First, a new methodology is introduced, that exploits panoramic images acquired with the Ricoh Theta SC camera, and 2D feature-based methods. The core idea is that SIFT features inherently contain scene information and, thanks to their good stability and invariance, can be exploited to detect possible changes that occurred at a scene surveyed with multi-temporal images. Second, in order to evaluate the performance of the proposed methodology, a reference approach is applied, based on state-of-the-art change detection algorithms (MAF/MAD), originally developed for remote sensing applications. Both methods are tested by simulating a typical crime scene, and a contamination event at the Crime Scene House (UK). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crime scene documentation is a fundamental task which has to be undertaken in a fast, accurate and reliable way, highlighting evidence which can be further used for ensuring justice for victims and for guaranteeing the successful prosecution of perpetrators. The main focus of this paper is on the documentation of a typical crime scene and on the rapid recording of any possible contamination that could have influenced its original appearance. A 3D reconstruction of the environment is first generated by processing panoramas acquired with the low-cost Ricoh Theta 360 camera, and further analysed to highlight potentials and limits of this emerging and consumer-grade technology. Then, a methodology is proposed for the rapid recording of changes occurring between the original and the contaminated crime scene. The approach is based on an automatic 3D feature-based data registration, followed by a cloud-to-cloud distance computation, given as input the 3D point clouds generated before and after e.g. the misplacement of evidence. All the algorithms adopted for panoramas pre-processing, photogrammetric 3D reconstruction, 3D geometry registration and analysis, are presented and currently available in open-source or low-cost software solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The VAST (valorisation of history and landscape) project (http://vast.fbk.eu/) was part of the initiatives promoted by the Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy) for the commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the First World War (WWI) outbreak. The project was primarily aimed to document and promote, through 3D digitization approaches and communication material, the memory of sites, theatre of the world conflict. The Italian Trento's p rovince had been under the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the end of the WWI, during which represented a crucial and bloody war front between the Aust rian and Italian territories. The region was constellated of military fortresses, trenches and tunnels, most of them now ruined and at risk to slowly disappear. 3D surveying and modelling techniques have been exploited to produce 3D digital models of structures and objects, along with virtual tours, communication material and a WebGIS of the area. All the products are available on the web for valorisation, educational and communication purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roman baths represented a popular social practice of everyday life, cited in numerous literary sources and testified by ample archaeological remains all over the Roman Empire. Although regional studies have contributed extensively to our knowledge about how baths functioned and what was their social role in various regions of the Mediterranean, their study in Cyprus is yet to be developed. Moreover, despite the increasing availability of devices and techniques for 3D documentation, various characteristics, especially in relation to the heating and water supply system of the baths, were omitted and were not properly and accurately documented. The pilot case study outlined in this paper presents the 3D documentation of the Roman bath, excavated in the 1950s, within the area of the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates at Kourion (Limassol district). The creation of an accurate 3D model of the documented area through image and range based techniques combined with topographic data, allows the detailed analysis of architectural elements and their decorative features. At the same time, it enables accurate measurements of the site, which are used as input for the archaeological interpretation and virtual reconstruction of the original shape of the bath. In addition, this project aims to answer a number of archaeological research questions related to Roman baths such as their architectural features, function mode and technological elements related to heating techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The octagonal domed church of the Christ Antiphonitis in the district of Kyrenia (Cyprus) was originally completely decorated with frescoes along its interior walls. Two of these are exceptional for their artistic and historic value: the story of the Tree of Jesse (a pictorial genealogy of the Virgin) located on the southern wall of the octagon, and the Last Judgment, on the northern wall. Following the invasion of Cyprus by Turkish military forces in 1974, looters stripped many of the region churches, removing an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 icons and several dozen major frescoes and mosaics, intending to sell them illegally on the antique market. The Church of Antiphonitis was among them. The walls with the two biblical episodes suffered major damages and big portions of their pictorial decoration were removed. Since the end of the 1990s, due to efforts of Cypriot authorities, more than 70 fragments of its frescoes returned from USA and Europe to the Byzantine Museum of Nicosia, where they are currently under conservation and restoration for future display. These were digitally documented through high-resolution ortophotos. The inner space of the church was documented by similar means, in order to virtually re-position the frescoes in their original locations. The virtual re-composition of the frescoes along the looted walls helped quantifying the missing parts, correctly re-locate virtually each fragment at its original position, obtain accurate colour information and prepare a digital musealisation product, to be included in the permanent exhibition display at the museum which will feature a 1:1 scale reproduction of the church walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyrofomes demidoffii is a basidiomycetous fungus that causes a white heart rot in living junipers ( Juniperus spp.). Morphological characters and genetic variation in species of Pyrofomes were investigated for specimens from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Macedonia, USA and Costa Rica. In addition, the behaviour of isolates from Ethiopia was studied in vitro. The Ethiopian specimens had relatively larger basidiospores than collections from other countries and showed a high sequence similarity in the ITS region of rDNA sequences with most of strains evaluated in this study (95-100%), but only 89-92% with P. demidoffii from the USA. Phylogenetic analysis of ITS-5.8S rDNA sequences resulted in two well-supported (99-100% bootstrap value), separate clades of P. demidoffii. Deeper branches were less well supported (bootstrap < 90%), but the two geographically and phylogenetically separated clades within P. demidoffii may still represent sister groups. For Ethiopian strains, the temperature optimum was between 20 and 25 °C and the pH optimum was around 5.0. A phylogenetic study with additional genetic markers and with a more representative collection of samples is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The monitoring of paintings, both on canvas and wooden support, is a crucial issue for the preservation and conservation of this kind of artworks. Many environmental factors (e.g. humidity, temperature, illumination, etc.), as well as bad conservation practices (e.g. wrong restorations, inappropriate locations, etc.), can compromise the material conditions over time and deteriorate an artwork. The article presents an on-going project realized by a multidisciplinary team composed by the ENEA UTICT 3D GraphLab, the 3D Optical Metrology Unit of the Bruno Kessler Foundation and the Soprintendenza per i Beni Storico Artistici ed Etnoantropologici of Bologna (Italy). The goal of the project is the multi-temporal 3D documentation and monitoring of paintings - at the moment in bad conservation's situation - and the provision of some metrics to quantify the deformations and damages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corynelia spp. are ascomycetes belonging to the order Coryneliales and are thought to be obligate parasites of trees in the Podocarpaceae. The aims of this study were to determine the disease intensity of Corynelia infection on Podocarpus falcatus in Ethiopian forests and verify the identity of Corynelia spp. from Ethiopia and other countries using morphological and molecular methods. Disease surveys were conducted in P. falcatus forest areas at Adaba- Dodola, Bushoftu, Menagesha, Shashamane and Wondo Genet in Ethiopia between 2009 and 2011, and samples were collected for morphological and molecular studies. Additional dried specimens morphologically collected as C. uberata, C. portoricensis and C. tropica from Podocarpus species in Kenya, South Africa, Puerto Rico and New Zealand were also characterized. Morphologically, the South African specimen (F-006479) of C. uberata had significantly larger ascospores when compared with the other specimens. There was a high sequence similarity (99-100%) in the internal transcribed spacer and 5.8S (ITS-5.8S) region among the studied C. uberata sequences. Cloning and amplification of the insert spanning partial small ribosomal unit ( SSU) and ITS-5.8S regions of ribosomal DNA validated the unidentified ITS-5.8S region as the sequence of C. uberata by inferring the reference sequence of SSU rDNA of C. uberata in Gen Bank. Both neighbour-joining and/or maximum parsimony methods placed ITS-5.8S and SSU rDNA sequences of Corynelia spp. at the basal position of the clade Eurotiomycetidae. C. uberata was found to be a potential pathogen on leaves, fruits and young stems of P. falcatus in Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mould spoilage is a serious problem that affects the shelf life of injera, the staple Ethiopian fermented bread. Injera is made from teff (Eragrostis tef) but other cereals may also be used in combination with teff. About two-third of Ethiopian diet consists of injera and it accounts for about two-thirds of the daily protein intake of the Ethiopian population. Injera has a high nutritional value, as it is rich in calcium and iron. Unfortunately, injera has a shelf life of only 3-4 days essentially due to mould spoilage. The use of weak organic acid as preservative is allowed in acidic foods, primarily as mould inhibitors. In this study, the effect of chemical preservatives such as benzoic acid, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate and calcium propionate were investigated to prolong shelf life of injera. The preservatives were added immediately before baking at the concentration of 0.1% of benzoic acid, 0.1% sodium benzoate, 0.2% of potassium sorbate, 0.3% of calcium propionate and 0.2% blend of the four as recommended by Food and Drug Administration of USA. Three fungal species: Aspergillus niger, Penicillium sp and Rhizopus sp were found to be responsible for injera spoilage. Penicillium and Rhizopus were more dominant at storage temperature of between 16-20°C, while Aspergillus niger was found to be more dominant at higher temperature of 25-32°C. Injera samples had a pH and moisture content between 3.38-3.45 and 62-65%, respectively. Anti-fungal activities of the preservatives investigated significantly prolonged the shelf life of injera for up to 12 days. It was found out that the effectiveness of preservation was ranked as sodium benzoate>benzoic acid>potassium sorbate>blend>calcium propionate showing that benzoate and benzoic acid are the most effective. The outcome of the research has a significant implication in food security, energy utilization and a significant reduction in the amount of time used by women to produce injera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The ultimate goal of organ transplantation is the reestablishment of organ function and the restoration of a solid immunity to prevent the assault of potentially deadly pathogens. T cell immunity is crucial in controlling cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. It is still unknown how preexisting antiviral T cell levels, prophylaxis, or preemptive antiviral strategies and pharmacological conditioning affect immune reconstitution. Methods. Seventy preemptively treated CMV-seropositive recipients, 13 prophylaxis-treated CMV-seronegative recipients of seropositive donor transplants, 2 seropositive recipients of seronegative donor kidneys, and 27 pretransplant subjects were enrolled in a cross-sectional study and analyzed for CMV viremia (DNAemia) and CMV-specific T cell response (interferon-gamma enzyme-linked immunospot assay) before transplantation and at 30, 60, 90, 180, and 360 days after transplantation. Results. CMV-seropositive transplant recipients displayed a progressive but heterogeneous pattern of immune reconstitution starting from day 60 after transplantation. CMV-seronegative recipients did not mount a detectable T cell response throughout the prophylaxis regimen. A single episode of CMV viremia (CMV copy number, 7000-170,000 copies/mL) was sufficient to prime a protective T cell immune response in CMV-seronegative recipients. Antithymocyte globulin treatment did not significantly affect CMV-specific T cell response. Conclusions. Baseline immunity, antiviral therapy but not antithymocyte globulin treatments profoundly influence T cell reconstitution in kidney transplant recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The second instar larvae of the malaria vector mosquito, Anopheles arabiensis, were more susceptible to Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis ( IPS-82) and B. sphaericus ( SPH-88) than the third instar larvae. The LC 50 values were 1.0 ΜgI-1 and 1.8 ΜgI-1 for IPS-82 against second and third instar larvae respectively, after 48 h of exposure. The LC50 values for SPH-88 were 3.6 Μg {si I-1} against the second instar larvae and 7.6 ΜgI-1 against the third instar larvae of An. arabiensis. The larvicidal efficacy of SPH-88 was significantly less than IPS-82. The potential of IPS-82 for the control of An. arabiensis in malaria endemic areas is promising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between CMV and EBV infection and the occurrence of antibody mediated rejection (AMR) in a cohort of adult heart transplant recipients (HTXs).Materials and Methods: 47 adult HTX patients were enrolled in a case-control study from June 2010 to June 2012, 24 of them with humoral rejection and 23 without.Endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) were routinely performed and pathological diagnosis of AMR assessed according to ISHLT 2011. Donor specific antibodies titles were evaluated at the same time of EMBs biopsy. Routine surveillance for viral reactivation or infection comprised weekly determination of whole blood CMV DNAemia during the first 100 days post-transplant. CMV and EBV DNAemia was evaluated using real-time PCR. We divided the cohort study in two groups according to time since HTx as early (1-90 days) and late (91-360 days).Results: In the AMR group the EBV infection was present in 13 cases (13/24, 54%) and CMV in 10 cases (10/24, 42%). In the control group the cases of pts with EBV were 2/23 (9%), while CMV were 4/23 (17%).In the early period EBV infection was present in 12/24 cases (50%, p=0.000) and CMV infection was present in 10/23 cases (p=0.042). In the late period EBV was present in 6/24 cases (25%, p=0.002) and CMV in 1/23 (4%, p=0.000).Conclusions: EBV and CMV infections during follow-up post heart transplantation occurred more frequently in patients with AMR suggesting that virus could act as a trigger in humoral rejection. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract Mountain depopulation in the Mediterranean region over the past decades has led to a decline in the use and maintenance of agricultural terraces and consequently the collapsing of dry-stone walls, which can increase soil erosion rates and downstream sedimentation. A field experiment has been set up on a degrading terraced hillslope in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus, to quantify the effectiveness of terrace maintenance on protecting cultivated land against soil erosion. The monitored site is cultivated with grapes. The terrace riser (22 m long) that forms the linear outlet of the hillslope has 11.4 m of standing dry-stone wall and 10.6 m of collapsed wall. It has been instrumented with seven 1 m wide sediment traps, three on standing sections of the wall and four on collapsed sections. When dry, sediment was collected from the traps after rainfall events, from December 2015 to November 2017. Uncertainties in the drainage areas of the 31.5-m long slope were quantified both for the terrace wall and for the individual traps through hydrologic delineations based on a detailed topographic survey. The sediment data were complemented by laser scanner surveys that were conducted in November 2015, May 2016 and April 2017, on a dry-stone terrace wall upslope from the outlet section. Wall degradation was assessed from the consecutive 3D model reconstructions. Rainfall was 469 mm in the first year and 515 mm in the second year and the average erosivity was 1148 MJ mm ha−1 h−1 y−1. The average soil erosion rate was 2.4 Mg ha−1 y−1, when linear drainage areas are considered (693 m2), 3.2 Mg ha−1 y−1 when the borders are delineated with the topographic data (520 m2). Nearly half of the soil erosion (43%) occurred during two very intense rainfall events (maximum 30-min intensity exceeding 35 mm h−1), out of the 34 monitored events. Erosion from standing terrace sections was 3.8 less than the erosion from the collapsed sections. For the scanned terrace wall, soil erosion from the standing sections was 2.2 lower than from the degraded sections. The laser scanner surveys identified some preferential erosion paths, but failed to recognize single stone collapses, whereas possible wall displacement was masked by scanning artifacts. The sediment traps were found to be an effective method for understanding and quantifying soil erosion in terraced mountain environments, while further research is needed to develop a more rigorous acquisition procedure for laser scanner surveys to derive useful information on wall degradation. Highlights • On a terraced vineyard, we measured a soil erosion rate from 2.4 to 3.2 Mg ha−1 y−1. • Dry-stone wall degradation increased soil loss by a factor of 3.8. • Erosivity index (EI30) has strong correlation with measured soil loss. • Soil loss is affected by drainage area and degraded dry-stone wall sections in it. • Laser scanner could not furnish reliable information on dry-stone wall degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of our study is to investigate the microRNA expression profile to discriminate the inflammatory infiltrate observed in monitoring endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) in post-transplanted patients with or without Cytomegalovirus (CMV) viremia. We identified 3 groups of patients in the setting of viremia and inflammatory infiltrate, between January 2018 and December 2020: a control group (CG, n=5) with patients negative at EMB for rejection and CMV infection, a rejection group (RG, n=5) with patients positive at EMB for Acute Cellular Rejection (ACR >=3A-2R ISHLT grade) but negative for CMV viremia and an infection group (IG, n=6) with patients positive at EMB for ACR (>=1A-1R ISHLT grade) in the setting of CMV viremia positivity (>1000 copies/mL). We extracted total RNA from FFPE-EMBs and performed a microRNA (miRNA) profiling by a microarray platform (Clariom-S miRNA 4.0 chip) without any bias of miRNA selection. Then, we analysed the miRNA profile using TAC (Transcriptome Analysis Console) software and matched them with the mRNA profile on the same samples. Out of the 2578 miRNAs tested for each patient, 513 miRNAs where differentially expressed (gene level fold-change <-2 or >2, p-value <0.05) between CG and IG (477 upregulated and 36 downregulated), 111 genes between CG and RG (62 upregulated and 49 downregulated) and 386 miRNAs between IG and RG (32 upregulated and 354 downregulated). Among these 386 miRNAs, 29 emerged only in IG vs RG comparison. Starting from these results, we further investigated hsa-mir-8075, mir-93-5p, mir-3651, mir-345-5p and mir-6722, the more significant differentially expressed miRNAs. The screening of PubTator, GeneCards and PubMed databases revealed that these miRNAs are mainly involved in PI3K/Akt pathway, STAT, HIF1α, leading to cell proliferation and apoptosis regulation, as well as mitochondria stress response. Moreover, most of these genes are connected to IL7 pathway, a key positive regulator of T cell proliferation. IL7R resulted differentially expressed in IG vs RG transcriptome analysis performed on the same samples. This mirnome analysis defined a molecular signature distinctive for Infection in post-cardiac transplant follow-up, which could interfere with cell proliferation, apoptosis, and T cell differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of our study is to investigate a possible transcriptomic signature to discriminate the inflammatory infiltrate observed in monitoring endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) in post-transplanted patients with or without Citomegalovirus (CMV) viremia. We selected 16 patients who underwent cardiac transplantation in our centre between January 2018 and December 2020 and monitored for CMV infection and allograft rejection. We identified three groups: a control group (n=5) with patients negative at BEM for rejection and CMV infection, a rejection group (n=5) with patients positive at BEM for Acute Cellular Rejection (ACR, ≥3A-2R ISHLT grade) but negative for CMV viremia and an infection group (n=6) with patients positive at BEM for ACR (≥1A-1R ISHLT grade) in the setting of CMV viremia (>1000 copies/mL).We extracted total RNA from FFPE-EMBs and performed a transcriptome profiling by a microarray platform (Clariom-S) without any bias of transcript selection. Then, we analysed the messenger RNA profile using TAC (Transcriptome Analysis Console) software. The bioinformatic analysis showed differential expressed genes among the three groups (gene level fold change <-2 or >2). Notably, 293 genes were differentially expressed between Control and Infection groups (82 up-regulated and 211 down-regulated), 407 genes between Control and Rejection groups (126 up-regulated and 281 down-regulated) and 18 genes between Infection and Rejection groups (10 up-regulated and 8 down-regulated) (p-value <0.005). After, we investigated the role of the single genes, identified in the latter comparison, that could discriminate between infection and rejection in WikiPathways. This analysis revealed that these genes are mainly involved in cardiomyocytes metabolism, Il-7 signalling, regulatory circuits of the STAT3 signalling, DNA replication and cardiac progenitor differentiation pathways. This is a first explorative but promising analysis that identified new transcriptomic signatures that could discriminate between rejection and infection in post cardiac transplant follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of our study is to assess the reliability of transcriptome profile platform outcomes between different tissue preservation conditions, RNA extraction methods and heart-failure-related genes, minimizing intra- and inter-experimental variability. Our cohort of study is composed by 6 FFPE endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) and 6 fresh frozen (FF) heart tissues samples belonging to the same adult end-stage heart failure patient, limiting inter-patient variability bias. Two major RNA extraction procedure were tested for FF and FFPE tissues. Then, we performed a high-throughput microarray expression profiling without a bias of transcript selection. We analyzed mRNAs expression through R programming and transcriptome analysis software, exploring >20000 transcripts. We refined the transcriptome analysis selecting, from a literature systematic review appraisal 30 heart-failure related genes, coupling the overlapping genes in the differential expression and network analysis. We compared the analysis of up- and down-regulated genes between the groups, addressing both the different RNA extraction procedure and tissue preservation, while sharing the same transcriptome platform. The differential expressed genes (DEG) analyzed had fold change set at 2 and -2, and a cut-off threshold of FDR adjusted p-value < 0,05. Heatmap showed a great samples' clusterization according to preservation and extraction methods. Only 284 genes passed filter criteria in FFPE inter-groups comparison of extraction methods, while 52 differed in FFPE vs. FF, showing a great overlap of transcriptome signature, corroborated by the heart-failure related set of genes. The network analysis highlighted that most of the DEG are strongly associated (p-value adjusted <0.004) to the dysregulation of reticulum and collagen related cell component, in accordance with heart failure stage. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in heart transplantation fields comparing genetic extraction and preservation methods for microarray expression profile evaluation correlated with pathophysiological mechanism. A proof of concept that RNAs from FFPE-EMBs, and not only FF, are feasible for microarray expression profile evaluation, and derived transcriptome profiles have a strong potential for research and diagnostic clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]