Molecular Docking-Based Exploration of Green Tea Bioactive Compounds for Targeting Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus Genes: A Potential Control Strategy

SummaryParticulate matter (PM) is ubiquitous in human environments and poses significant threats to health. While considerable research has been conducted on the relationship between air pollutants and respiratory as well as cardiovascular diseases, our understanding of the link between air pollutants and infertility remains notably lacking, particularly regarding PM. Therefore, it is crucial to explore this relationship further. In recent years, numerous scholars have extensively studied the characteristics of PM and its impact on reproductive system disorders, providing strong evidence that PM from various sources significantly influences the incidence and progression of these diseases. Consequently, investigating the underlying mechanisms and identifying essential control measures are necessary. This review primarily outlines the fundamental characteristics of PM, its association with infertility, the toxic mechanisms involved, and potential control strategies. We hope this review offers new insights for further research and contributes to advancements in human reproductive medicine.

An innovative biogas upgrading process consists in the utilization of a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) in which a biocathode performs the bioelectromethanogenesis reaction reducing the CO2 into CH4 while an additional CO2 removal mechanism consists in the CO2 sorption as HCO3−, due to alkalinity generation in the catholyte. Here, a two chamber 12-liter tubular MEC has been developed to upgrade biogas by using bioelectrochemical organic matter oxidation at the anode to partially sustain the energy demand of the process. In the tubular MEC, the electroactive microorganisms’ selection was obtained by polarizing the anode chamber at + 0.2 V vs. SHE (Standard Hydrogen Electrode). Under this condition, three values of the applied organic loading rate (OLR) have been investigated. Once the best OLR was selected at 2.55 gCOD/Ld, the potentiostatic control of the tubular MEC was switched from the anode to the cathode. As reported in a previous experiment, the potentiostatic control shift resulted in a sharp decrease of the process’ energy consumption thanks to minimization of the anodic overpotential. Moreover, three different runs were conducted with the cathodic potential controlled at −1.3 V; −1.8 V; −2.3 V vs. SHE to investigate the performances of the CO2 abatement. The lowest energy consumption for CO2 removal was obtained during the −1.3 V vs SHE condition with a consumption of 0.5 kWh/Nm3 of removed CO2. Those results indicate that the potentiostatic control switch from the anode to the cathode permits to minimize the energy consumption of a micro pilot MEC having a tubular configuration.

Research Note: Effect of a phlorotannin extract of the brown seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum as a potential control strategy against Campylobacter in broilers

Potential strategies for process control and monitoring of stabilization of dairy wastewaters in batch aerobic treatment systems

In most epithelial-derived tumors, the early developmental program known as “Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition” (EMT), is reactivated and plays an important role in cancer metastasis and recurrence. The EMT program directs cells to become non-adherent, motile and highly invasive thus leading to metastatic spread. Thus, strategies to shutdown the EMT program might be useful in controlling EMT mediated tumor progression. EMT is largely controlled by a handful of transcription factors, including Snail and Slug: these are the canonical master regulators of the EMT and function as transcriptional repressors of E-cadherin and other cell adhesion molecules. A rate-limiting step in EMT regulation by Snail occurs when its four tandem C2-H2 zinc finger (ZF) motifs bind the E-box DNA sequence (CANNTG) in target promoters. The atomic structure of Snail-DNA complex remains undefined. We derived a high resolution model for DNA recognition by Snail using Molecular Dynamics (MD) based threading of known ZF-DNA structures and energy minimization. The model was tested using purified recombinant Snail protein, and truncations/single amino acid substitutions in in vitro DNA binding assays. A Snail monomer binds with nanomolar affinities (Kd=22.1 nM) in the major groove of DNA. Disrupting cysteine residues in each finger shows that fingers 2 and 3 contribute most to the specificity for DNA recognition. Alanine scanning mutagenesis in the recognition helices revealed that R191, W193, S221, D219, N222 and R247 are invloved in direct DNA contact. Among them, W193 in finger 2, S221 in finger 3 and R247 in the finger 4 are predicted to mediate critical base-pair contacts and therefore determine the sequence specificity for Snail DNA-binding, while R191 in finger 2 and N222 in finger 3 stabilize the complex via phosphate backbone contacts. A comparison of the base-pair contacts required for binding by Snail vs. the bHLH protein Twist was highly informative. The Twist dimer does not utilize the central 2 base pairs within the E-box (ie. NN in the CANNTG sequence) for proper binding. In contrast, E-box binding by Snail requires a guanine as the second base in the central 2 base pairs (ie. NG in the CANGTG sequence). However, if the central 2 base pairs is CG, CpG methylation of this motif strongly inhibits Twist binding but does not affect Snail binding. Thus, remarkably, depending on the exact sequence of the E-box present in a promoter, CpG methylation of that site can differentially effect binding and thus regulation by Snail or Twist. These data provide the first examples of how specificity can be generated for target gene regulation by either Twist or Snail. Citation Format: Yuanjie Liu, Jeremy W. Prokop, Hongzhuang Peng, Frank J. Rauscher. High resolution DNA recognition by the Snail zinc finger protein: Testing of a molecular dynamics based model defines the atomic level interactions required for high affinity binding, E-box specificity and reveals potential strategies for small molecule control of EMT transcriptional programs. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1061. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1061

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania, affecting millions of people worldwide. The disease is transmitted by the bite of infected female sand flies, which act as vectors and hosts for the parasites. The interaction between Leishmania parasites and sand flies is complex and dynamic, involving various factors that influence parasite development, survival and transmission. This review examines how the immune response of sand flies affects vector competence and transmission of Leishmania parasites, and what the potential strategies are to prevent or reduce infection. The review also summarizes the main findings and conclusions of the existing literature and discusses implications and recommendations for future research and practice. The study reveals that the immune response of sand flies is a key determinant of vector competence and transmission of Leishmania parasites, and that several molecular and cellular mechanisms are involved in the interaction between parasite and vector. The study also suggests that there are potential strategies for controlling leishmaniasis, such as interfering with parasite development, modulating the vector's immune response or reducing the vector population. However, the study also identifies several gaps and limitations in current knowledge and calls for more comprehensive and systematic studies on vector-parasite interaction and its impact on leishmaniasis transmission and control.

The present study was conducted to estimate the direct losses due to Neospora caninum in Swiss dairy cattle and to assess the costs and benefits of different potential control strategies. A Monte Carlo simulation spreadsheet module was developed to estimate the direct costs caused by N. caninum, with and without control strategies, and to estimate the costs of these control strategies in a financial analysis. The control strategies considered were “testing and culling of seropositive female cattle”, “discontinued breeding with offspring from seropositive cows”, “chemotherapeutical treatment of female offspring” and “vaccination of all female cattle”. Each parameter in the module that was considered to be uncertain, was described using probability distributions. The simulations were run with 20,000 iterations over a time period of 25 years. The median annual losses due to N. caninum in the Swiss dairy cow population were estimated to be € 9.7 million. All control strategies that required yearly serological testing of all cattle in the population produced high costs and thus were not financially profitable. Among the other control strategies, two showed benefit–cost ratios (BCR) >1 and positive net present values (NPV): “Discontinued breeding with offspring from seropositive cows” (BCR = 1.29, NPV = € 25 million) and “chemotherapeutical treatment of all female offspring” (BCR = 2.95, NPV = € 59 million). In economic terms, the best control strategy currently available would therefore be “discontinued breeding with offspring from seropositive cows”.

An important issue to be addressed in power plants is the continued operation during load transients, such as load following and load rejection. It is inevitable that with new power plant technology, new control strategies will be required. One such technology investigated for commercial power plants is that of a three-shaft recuperative inter-cooled closed-loop Brayton cycle with a high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor as the heat source and helium as coolant. Because of its unique configuration, the utilization of traditional power plant control strategies is limited. In order to address this, detailed cycle analyses were performed to identify new potential control strategies. The analyses were done using the Flownex thermohydraulic systems CFD simulation software since it is ideally suited for component and system integration. It also enables designers to simulate complex load scenarios and design-suitable controller algorithms. It was therefore possible to investigate control options for one of the most severe load control scenarios, i.e., that of full load rejection due to the loss of the grid power. This paper briefly describes the various control strategies investigated and presents details of the two strategies showing the most promising results with regard to load rejection.

Cost-benefit analysis of foot and mouth disease control in Ethiopia

The formation mechanism and control strategies of warmed-over flavor in prepared dishes: A comprehensive review and future perspectives

Tropospheric ozone is one of six criteria pollutants regulated by the US EPA, and has been linked to respiratory and cardiovascular endpoints and adverse effects on vegetation and ecosystems. Regional photochemical models have been developed to study the impacts of emission reductions on ozone levels. The standard approach is to run the deterministic model under new emission levels and attribute the change in ozone concentration to the emission control strategy. However, running the deterministic model requires substantial computing time, and this approach does not provide a measure of uncertainty for the change in ozone levels. Recently, a reduced form model (RFM) has been proposed to approximate the complex model as a simple function of a few relevant inputs. In this paper, we develop a new statistical approach to make full use of the RFM to study the effects of various control strategies on the probability and magnitude of extreme ozone events. We fuse the model output with monitoring data to calibrate the RFM by modeling the conditional distribution of monitoring data given the RFM using a combination of flexible semiparametric quantile regression for the center of the distribution where data are abundant and a parametric extreme value distribution for the tail where data are sparse. Selected parameters in the conditional distribution are allowed to vary by the RFM value and the spatial location. Also, due to the simplicity of the RFM, we are able to embed the RFM in our Bayesian hierarchical framework to obtain a full posterior for the model input parameters, and propagate this uncertainty to the estimation of the effects of the control strategies. We use the new framework to evaluate three potential control strategies, and find that reducing mobile-source emissions has a larger impact than reducing point-source emissions or a combination of several emission sources.

As earlier chapters in this book have shown, cyclically re-emerging old plagues and newly emerging scourges are, because of their multifactorial ecology, likely to be the enduring experience of the human race. And so, in this concluding chapter, we look at some of the broad ideas which lie behind disease control and which might be used to mitigate the impact of new or re-emerging infections. Linked to surveillance systems, quarantine and vaccination are currently the front-line approaches, and we discuss these in Sections 11.2 and 11.3. The chapter is concluded in Section 11.4 with an assessment of the twenty-first- century context within which containment of newly emerging and re-emerging diseases is likely to occur. It is helpful to consider control strategies for communicable diseases by setting them within a modelling framework. A basic susceptible–infective– removed (SIR) epidemic model was described in Section 10.2.1. As shown in Figure 11.1, protection against the spread of infection can be undertaken at two points. The first method, (i), is to interrupt the mixing of infectives and susceptibles with protective spatial barriers. This may take the form of isolating an individual or a community, or of restricting the geographical movements of infected individuals by quarantine; another approach is by locating populations in supposedly safe areas. The historical use of quarantine in protecting communities against the plague and other diseases is considered in Section 11.2. For animal populations, there exists a third possibility: the creation of a disease-free buffer zone by the wholesale evacuation of areas or by the destruction of those infected. The second method, (ii), is to short-circuit the route from susceptibles to removed by the establishment of immunity through some variant of immunization. Vaccination as a control strategy is discussed in Section 11.3. Potential control strategies are illustrated schematically in Figure 11.2. In the two maps, infected areas have been shaded, while disease-free areas have been left blank. In Figure 11.2A, the disease-free areas need to be protected by isolation.

The primary reason for the failure of malaria vector control across endemic regions is the widespread insecticide resistance observed in Anopheles vectors. The most dominant African vectors of malaria parasites are Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus mosquitoes. These species often exhibit divergent behaviours and adaptive changes underscoring the importance of deploying active and effective measures in their control. Unlike An. gambiae, An. funestus mosquitoes are poorly studied in Benin Republic. However, recent reports indicated that An. funestus can adapt and colonize various ecological niches owing to its resistance against insecticides and adaptation to changing breeding habitats. Unfortunately, scientific investigations on the contribution of An. funestus to malaria transmission, their susceptibility to insecticide and resistance mechanism developed are currently insufficient for the design of better control strategies. In an attempt to gather valuable information on An. funestus, the present review examines the progress made on this malaria vector species in Benin Republic and highlights future research perspectives on insecticide resistance profiles and related mechanisms, as well as new potential control strategies against An. funestus. Literature analysis revealed that An. funestus is distributed all over the country, although present in low density compared to other dominant malaria vectors. Interestingly, An. funestus is being found in abundance during the dry seasons, suggesting an adaptation to desiccation. Among the An. funestus group, only An. funestus sensu stricto (s.s.) and Anopheles leesoni were found in the country with An. funestus s.s. being the most abundant species. Furthermore, An. funestus s.s. is the only one species in the group contributing to malaria transmission and have adapted biting times that allow them to bite at dawn. In addition, across the country, An. funestus were found resistant to pyrethroid insecticides used for bed nets impregnation and also resistant to bendiocarb which is currently being introduced in indoor residual spraying formulation in malaria endemic regions. All these findings highlight the challenges faced in controlling this malaria vector. Therefore, advancing the knowledge of vectorial competence of An. funestus, understanding the dynamics of insecticide resistance in this malaria vector, and exploring alternative vector control measures, are critical for sustainable malaria control efforts in Benin Republic.

Aiming at the neutral point potential imbalance problem of three-level neutral point clamped (NPC) inverter, an improved neutral point potential balance control strategy depend on space vector modulation method is suggested. Firstly, the equilibrium mechanism of neutral point potential is analyzed by the coupling relationship between neutral point current and dc-link capacitor. In Accord with the influence of the change amplitude of the neutral point potential error variation and the redundant small vector on the direction of the neutral point current, the action time of the redundant small vector pair is corrected. On this basis, the balance control of neutral point potential is realized by using the space vector modulation method. The simulation results show that compared with the control strategy without neutral point potential balance, this approach can forcefully control the neutral point potential balance of NPC three-level inverter. It is of great significance for system stability and accurate control of permanent magnet synchronous motor.

Abstract. Zahra S, Hofstetter RW, Waring KM, Gehring C. 2020. Review: The invasion of Acacia nilotica in Baluran National Park, Indonesia, and potential future control strategies. Biodiversitas 21: 104-116. Acacia nilotica, commonly called prickly acacia, is infamous for its ability to invade various ecosystems, especially savannah. The tree was introduced to Baluran National Park (BNP), Indonesia in 1969 and nowadays has invaded more than 50% of BNP savannah habitat. Its presence has had significant negative impacts on local flora and fauna of the park. Physical and chemical eradication efforts of this plant have been conducted in the park but these have failed. Little is known about the tree invasion in Indonesia and no control suggestions have previously been proposed. Here, we review the causes and history of the invasion of this tree, describe previous attempts to eradicate the tree, and provide possible containment and control strategies. We describe 12 strategies based on successes and failures to control this tree in Indonesia and other countries and divide the methods into four categories: (i) physical: girdling the trunk, uprooting with winch, manual seedling uprooting, defloration, and restoration with fire; (ii) chemical: using biochar or herbicides; (iii) biological: using native plant competitors (grasses, shade trees), predators (insect) and pathogens (fungi) or microorganisms; (iv) social: centralized tree utilization, education outreach, and stakeholder collaboration. We summarize the relative effectiveness and efficiency of each method and explain how to integrate the aforementioned methods to help authorities choose the most appropriate strategies for their resources, needs and goals.