Digital Commons Network^™

Complete Genome Analysis Of African Swine Fever Virus Responsible For Outbreaks In Domestic Pigs In 2018 In Burundi And 2019 In Malawi, Jean Nepomuscene Hakizimana, Jean B. Ntirandekura, Clara Yona, Lionel Nyabongo, Gladson Kamwendo, Julius L.C Chulu, Désiré Ntakirutimana, Olivier Kamana, Hans Nauwynck, Gerald Misinzo

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Several African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks in domestic pigs have been reported in Burundi and Malawi and whole-genome sequences of circulating outbreak viruses in these countries are limited. In the present study, complete genome sequences of ASF viruses (ASFV) that caused the 2018 outbreak in Burundi (BUR/18/Rutana) and the 2019 outbreak in Malawi (MAL/19/Karonga) were produced using Illumina next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform and compared with other previously described ASFV complete genomes. The complete nucleotide sequences of BUR/18/Rutana and MAL/19/Karonga were 176,564 and 183,325 base pairs long with GC content of 38.62 and 38.48%, respectively. The MAL/19/Karonga virus had a total …

Molecular Detection Of Campylobacter Species From Human And Cattle Faecal Samples In Kilosa District, Tanzania, Gahamanyi Noel, Leonard E.G Mboera, Mecky I. Matee, Dieudonné Mutangana, Raghavendra G. Amachawadi, Kye-Yoon Yoon, Mr. Humphrey, Cheol-Ho Pan, Erick V.G Komba

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

A growing number of Campylobacter species other than C. jejuni and C. coli have been considered as emerging human and animal pathogens but their contribution to human gastroenteritis is poorly documented. This study aimed at detecting Campylobacter species from human and cattle faecal samples in Kilosa District, Tanzania using molecular techniques without culture. Seventy (70) faecal samples were collected from five diarrheic and 65 non-diarrheic human patients attending Kilosa District Hospital in Tanzania from July to October 2019. During the same period, 30 faecal samples were also collected from healthy cattle in the same district. Genus and species identification of …

Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles, Virulence Genes, And Genetic Diversity Of Thermophilic Campylobacter Species Isolated From A Layer Poultry Farm In Korea, Gahamanyi Noel, Dae-Geun Song, Kye-Yoon Yoon, Leonard E. G Mboera, Mecky I. Matee, Mutangana Dieudonne Dieudonne, Raghavendra G. Amachawadi, Erick Komba, Cheol-Ho Pan

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Thermophilic Campylobacter species are among the major etiologies of bacterial enteritis globally. This study aimed at assessing the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles, virulence genes, and genetic diversity of thermophilic Campylobacter species isolated from a layer poultry farm in South Korea. One hundred fifty-three chicken feces were collected from two layer poultry farms in Gangneung, South Korea. The Campylobacter species were isolated by cultural techniques, while PCR and sequencing were used for species confirmation. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing for six antimicrobials [ciprofloxacin (CIP), nalidixic acid (NAL), sitafloxacin (SIT), erythromycin (ERY), tetracycline (TET), and gentamicin (GEN)] was carried out by broth microdilution. Three …

An Assessment Of The Epidemiology And Socioeconomic Impact Of The 2019 African Swine Fever Outbreak In Ngara District, Western Tanzania, Jean Nepomuscene Hakizimana, C.C Kivumbi, C Yona, Gerald M. Misinzo

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

African swine fever (ASF) is a contagious viral transboundary animal disease affecting domestic pigs caused by ASF virus (ASFV). This study was conducted in order to determine the genetic characteristics, risk factors and socioeconomic impact of an ASF outbreak in 2019 in Ngara, western Tanzania. Tissue samples from dead domestic pigs with clinical picture suggestive of ASF infection were collected for ASF confirmation and genetic characterization of ASFV. Data on the risk factors and socioeconomic impact associated with the ASF outbreak were collected from consenting farmers using a semi-structured questionnaire. Disease confirmation was done by detection of genomic ASFV DNA …

Exposure To Salinity And Light Spectra Regulates Glucosinolates, Phenolics, And Antioxidant Capacity Of Brassica Carinata L. Microgreens, Sylvia Wairimu Maina, Da Hye Ryu, Jwa Yeong Cho, Da Seul Jung, Jai-Eok Park, Chu Won Nho, Gaymary Bakari, Gerald Misinzo, Je Hyeong Jung, Seung-Hoon Yang, Ho-Youn K Kim

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

The effect of salt treatment on Brassica carinata (BC) microgreens grown under different light wavelengths on glucosinolates (GLs) and phenolic compounds were evaluated. Quantifiable GLs were identified using ultra-high performance-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry. Extracts’ ability to activate antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)) was evaluated on human colorectal carcinoma cells (HCT116). Furthermore, BC compounds’ ability to activate expression of nuclear transcription factor-erythroid 2 related factor (Nrf2) and hemeoxygenase- 1 (HO-1) proteins was examined using specific antibodies on HCT116 cells. Sinigrin (SIN) was the abundant GLs of the six compounds identified and its content together with total …

Characterization Of Barite Reserves In Nigeria For Use As Weighting Agent In Drilling Fluid, David Oluwasegun Afolayan, Adelana Rasak Adetunji, Azikiwe Peter Onwualu, Oghenerume Ogolo, Richard Kwasi Amankwah

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Successful drilling operations are dependent on the properties of the drilling fluid used to drill wells. Barite is used as a weighting agent during the preparation of drilling fluid. Over the years, oil and gas industry in Nigeria has been depending mainly on imported barite for drilling operations, whereas the country has huge deposits of barite. There is the need to assess the properties of the locally sourced barite for their suitability in drilling fluid formulation. This study presents the local processing methods of barite and examines the crude and on-the-site processed barite’s physio-chemical properties. These parameters were compared with …

Performance Analysis Of Iot-Based Healthcare Heterogeneous Delay-Sensitive Multi-Server Priority Queuing System, Barbara Kabwiga Asingwire, Alexander Ngenzi, Louis Sibomana, Charles Kabiri

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Previous studies have considered scheduling schemes for Internet of Things (IoT)-based healthcare systems like First Come First Served (FCFS), and Shortest Job First (SJF). However, these scheduling schemes have limitations that range from large requests starving short requests, process starvation that results in long time to complete if short processes are continuously added, and performing poorly under overloaded conditions. To address the mentioned challenges, this paper proposes an analytical model of a prioritized scheme that provides service differentiation in terms of delay sensitive packets receiving service before delay tolerant packets and also in terms of packet size with the short …

Spatio‐Temporal Characteristics Of Meteorological Drought Under Changing Climate In Semi‐Arid Region Of Northern Ethiopia., Biniyam Yisehak, Henok Shiferaw, Haftu Abrha Mengesha, Amdom Gebremedhin, Haftom Hagos, Kelali Adhana, Temesgen Bezabh

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Background

Below-normal availability of water for a considerable period of time induces occurrence of drought. This paper investigates the Spatio-temporal characteristics of meteorological drought under changing climate. The climate change was analyzed using delta based statistical downscaling approach of RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 in R software packages. The meteorological drought was assessed using the Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI).

Results

The result of climate change projections showed that the average annual minimum temperature will be increased by about 0.8–2.9 °C. The mean annual maximum temperature will be also increased by 0.9–3.75 °C. The rainfall projection generally showed an increasing trend, …

Comparing Effectiveness, Cost- And Time-Efficiency Of Control Options For Xanthomonas Wilt Of Banana Under Rwandan Agro-Ecological Conditions, Guy Blomme, Petronille Dusingizimana, Jules Ntamwira, Elizabeth Kearsley, Svetlana Gaidashova, Anne Rietveld, Boudy Van Schagen, Walter Ocimati

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Xanthomonas wilt of banana (XW) is a major disease affecting banana throughout East and Central Africa (ECA). Initial control was through complete diseased mat uprooting (CDMU), which had limited adoption due to high labour demands and cost. Further research demonstrated single dis- eased stem removal (SDSR) was an effective, less labour intensive and less costly alternative to CDMU. A comparative assessment of the two con- trol practices was needed to foster uptake by policy makers, especially in countries like Rwanda where SDSR had not been tested or scaled up. To test SDSR in Rwanda, a study was conducted in farmers’ …

Diversity, Population Structure, And Linkage Disequilibrium Among Cowpea Accessions, Sodedji Frejus Ariel Kpedetin, Symphorien Agbahoungba, Eric Echikintho Agoyi, Médard Konoutan Kafoutchoni, Jaeyoung Choi, Simon-Pierre Assanvo Nguetta, Achille Ephrem Assogbadjo, Ho-Youn Kim

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata(L.) Walp] is a globally important food security crop.However, it is susceptible to pest and disease; hence, constant breeding efforts basedon its diversity are required for its improvement. The present study aims to investigatethe genetic diversity, population structure, and linkage disequilibrium (LD) among274  cowpea  accessions  from  different  origins.  A  total  of  3,127  single  nucleotidepolymorphism (SNP) markers generated using diversity array technology (DArT)was used. Population structure, neighbor-joining clustering, and principal componentanalyses indicated three subpopulations within the germplasm. Results of STRUC-TURE  analysis  and  discriminant  analysis  of  principal  components  (DAPC)  werecomplementary in assessing the structuration of the diversity among the germplasm,with …

Nanobodies: Their Potential For Applications In Biotechnology, Diagnosis And Antiviral Properties In Africa; Focus On Application In Agriculture, Faith Njeri Njeru, Paul Mbogo Kusolwab

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Antibodies are key elements in routine immunological tests, having a long history in detection of plant pathogens due to their specificity, reliability and fast performance. Heavy chain-only antibodies (HCAbs), circulating in the blood of camels are IgG isotypes that lack the light (L) chains and the heavy (H) chain is depleted of the first constant domain (CH1). The HCAbs interact with the antigen by virtue of only one single variable domain, referred to as VHH or nanobody (Nb). Owing to their unique properties: nanometer scale size, robust structure, stable and soluble behaviour in aqueous solution, high affinity and specificity for …

Prevalence And Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profiles Of Staphylococcus Aureus From Raw Bovine Milk In Dairy And Pastoral Farms In Morogoro Region, Tanzania, Nancy Kalee, Gahamanyi Noel, Abubakar S. Hoza

All Rsif Scholars' Publications

Increased resistance of Staphylococcus aureus isolates to existing antimicrobials constitutes a major concern in human and veterinary medicine. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility profiles, and molecular characteristics of S. aureus from raw bovine milk in dairy and pastoral farms in Morogoro urban and Mvomero districts, Tanzania. In a cross-sectional study, 397 raw bovine milk samples were collected and carried to the laboratory. Conventional Gram staining, colony morphology on blood agar, and mannitol salt agar, along with biochemical tests, were used for S. aureus identification. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) was performed using the disk diffusion method, while …

Elucidation Of Multi-Origin Inula Helenium L. For Antimicrobial Activity And Heavy Metal Profiling As An Exemplar For The Use And Regulation Of Plants As Antibiotics., Ciara Ruth Kenny

Theses

An impending post-antibiotic era looms, thus new sources of therapeutic chemical entities are crucial to sustain effective antimicrobial chemotherapy worldwide. Plant natural products are a source of accessible, structurally diverse compounds that provide therapeutic potential. The pharmacological applications of plants in medicine can be guided by the attestation of traditional use or the application of this knowledge to uncover new leads in the drug discovery process. The range of modified in vitro methods commonly used to investigate preclinical antimicrobial efficacy of plant-derived natural products, and the associated limitations and challenges in the provision of new antimicrobial drugs from plants is …

Retrospective Review Of Pharmacogenetic Testing At An Academic Children's Hospital., Timothy A. Roberts, Jennifer A. Wagner, Tracy L. Sandritter, Benjamin T. Black, Andrea Gaedigk, Stephani L. Stancil

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

There is limited evidence to support pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing in children. We conducted a retrospective review of PGx testing among 452 patients at an academic children's hospital to determine the potential utility of PGx in diseases of childhood and to identify targets for future pediatric pharmacogenetic research. An actionable gene-drug pair associated with the 28 genes tested (Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) level A or B, Pharmacogenomics Knowledge Base (PharmGKB) level 1A or B, or US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendation and a PharmGKB level) was present in 98.7% of patients. We identified 203 actionable gene-drug-diagnosis groups based on …

Awareness And Knowledge Of Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Survey Of Caregivers, Teachers, Allied Health Professionals And Medical Professionals In Australia, Jacqui Hunt, Jill G. Zwicker, Erin Godecke, Annette Raynor

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background:

To allow for accurate and timely diagnosis of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) key stakeholders must be familiar with and be able to identify features of this disorder. No studies to date have investigated the awareness of DCD among key stakeholders in Australia.

Methods:

An online survey was complete by 494 Australian participants: primary caregivers (n = 153), teachers (n = 149), allied health professionals (n = 165) and medical professionals (n = 27).

Results:

DCD and related terms were among the least known childhood disorders. Approximately half of the sample were familiar with the term …

What Lies Beneath: Predicting Seagrass Below-Ground Biomass From Above-Ground Biomass, Environmental Conditions And Seagrass Community Composition, C. J. Collier, L. M. Langlois, Kathryn M. Mcmahon, J. Udy, M. Rasheed, E. Lawrence, A. B. Carter, M. W. Fraser, L. J. Mckenzie

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 Seagrass condition, resilience and ecosystem services are affected by the below-ground tissues (BGr) but these are rarely monitored. In this study we compiled historical data across northern Australia to investigate biomass allocation strategies in 13 tropical seagrass species. There was sufficient data to undertake statistical analysis for five species: Cymodocea serrulata, Halophila ovalis, Halodule uninervis, Thalassia hemprichii, and Zostera muelleri. The response of below-ground biomass (BGr) to above-ground biomass (AGr) and other environmental and seagrass community composition predictor variables were assessed using Generalized Linear Models. Environmental data included: region, season, sediment type, water depth, proximity to land-based sources …

Titanium Nitride Thin Film Based Low‐Redox‐Interference Potentiometric Ph Sensing Electrodes, Shimrith Paul Shylendra, Wade Lonsdale, Magdalena Wajrak, Mohammad Nur‐E‐Alam, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

In this work, a solid‐state potentiometric pH sensor is designed by incorporating a thin film of Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtered (RFMS) Titanium Nitride (TiN) working electrode and a commercial Ag|AgCl|KCl double junction reference electrode. The sensor shows a linear pH slope of −59.1 mV/pH, R2 = 0.9997, a hysteresis as low as 1.2 mV, and drift below 3.9 mV/hr. In addition, the redox interference performance of TiN electrodes is compared with that of Iridium Oxide (IrO2) counterparts. Experimental results show −32mV potential shift (E0 value) in 1 mM ascorbic acid (reducing …

For The Children? A Mixed Methods Analysis Of World Bank Structural Adjustment Loans, Health Projects, And Infant Mortality In Latin America, Shiri Noy

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Prevalence And Correlates Of Physical Health Conditions In Jamaica And Guyana, Krim K. Lacey, Karen Powell Sears, Tazhmoye V. Crawford, Letroy O. Cummings, Sasha R. Drummond-Lewis, Rohan D. Jeremiah, James S. Jackson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Body Temperature On Initial Bite Force In Three Species Of Rock- And Crevice-Dwelling Lizards From Mexico, Guillermo A. Woolrich-Piña, Geoffrey R. Smith, Norberto Martínez-Méndez, Julio A. Lemos-Espinal, Héctor Gadsden-Esparz

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Fecal Pellet Mass As A Function Of Body Size, Color Morph, And Season In Plethodon Cinereus (Green, 1818) (Amphibia: Plethodontidae), Geoffrey R. Smith, Abhishek V. Henry, Logan E. Smith, Wesley O. Smith

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Physical Intimate Partner Violence, Childhood Physical Abuse And Mental Health Of U.S. Caribbean Women: The Interrelationship Of Social, Contextual, And Migratory Influences, Krims K. Lacey, Regina Parnell, Sasha R. Drummond-Lewis, Maxine Wood, Karen Powell Sears

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Visions Of Childhood, Notions Of Rurality, And Anti-Bias Education: Emerging Educators Strive For Praxis, Emily Nemeth, Heather Hill

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Data Science In Undergraduate Life Science Education: A Need For Instructor Skills Training, Nathan C. Emery, Erika Crispo, Sarah R. Supp, Kaitlin J. Farrell, Andrew J. Kerkhoff

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Statistical Analysis Of Drug Seizures And Opioid Overdose Deaths In Ohio From 2014 To 2018, David White, Lam Tran, Lin Ma

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Bright Chromenylium Polymethine Dyes Enable Fast, Four-Color "In Vivo" Imaging With Shortwave Infrared Detection, Emily D. Cosco, Bernardo A. Arús, Anthony L. Spearman, Timothy Luke Atallah, Irene Lim

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Tubular J-Aggregates Of Cyanine Dyes In The Near-Infrared, Austin Bailey, Arundhati Deshmukh, Timothy Luke Atallah, Ulugbek Barotov, Monica Pengshung

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Data Science In Undergraduate Life Science Education: A Need For Instructor Skills Training, Nathan C. Emery, Erika Crispo, Sarah R. Supp, Kaitlin J. Farrell, Andrew J. Kerkhoff

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Estimating The Movements Of Terrestrial Animal Populations Using Broad-Scale Occurrence Data, Sarah R. Supp, Gil Bohrer, John Fieberg, Frank A. La Sorte

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Long‐Term Changes In Temperate Marine Fish Assemblages Are Driven By A Small Subset Of Species, Nicholas J. Gotelli, Faye Moyes, Laura H. Antão, Shane A. Blowes, Sarah R. Supp

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.