Sap Consumption Research Articles

A Comprehensive Review of Nipah Virus: From Epidemics to Approaches of Management

Nipah virus (NiV) continues to remain a significant threat to health of the public, characterized by its ability to cause respiratory and neurological complications. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified NiV as a priority disease for its R and D Blueprint. However, despite extensive research efforts, specific antiviral therapies for NiV infection are currently unavailable. This highlights the crucial need to focus on supportive care for patients affected by the NiV. Therapies Prompt medical attention, including mechanical ventilation and intensive care, is crucial in case of NiV infection. Preventive measures such as avoiding consumption of raw date palm sap and implementing control of infection practices, gives a major role in halting the spread of NiV. This review provides a comprehensive overview of NiV, including its unique characteristics, clinical manifestations, diagnostic methods, treatment strategies, and preventive measures. The article also provides details on vaccines currently undergoing clinical trials, including ChAdOx1, PHV02, mRNA-1215, HeV-sG-V, and CD40.NiV. In addition, it highlights that the m102.4 monoclonal antibody and nucleotide analogue remdesivir has shown effective in the Non-Human Primate (NHP) model was also reviewed.

Population dynamics, feeding strategies, and coccinellid predators of the larch woolly adelgid exules on the European larch

The larch woolly adelgid Adelges laricis Vallot (Hemiptera: Adelgidae) infests spruce Picea spp. and larch Larix spp. in the Northern Hemisphere. The present field and laboratory research embraced the hitherto unknown aspects of the biology and ecology of A. laricis on its secondary host, the European larch Larix decidua Mill. in Poland. The study showed that the A. laricis population on L. decidua was represented by exulis sistens females at dwarf stem bases, exulis progrediens mobile 1st instar nymphs (crawlers) on needles, exulis progrediens sessile “woolly” nymphs and “woolly” adults on needles, and winged sexupara females. The maximum abundance of the A. laricis population occurred from the end of April until mid-May, which coincided with the predomination of crawlers in the age structure of the population. The most important limiting weather component was high rainfall, affecting mainly the crawlers. Eight species of Coccinellidae were recorded on adelgid-infested larch trees and Exochomus quadripustulatus (L.) was the dominant species. The main differences in food consumption strategies among adelgid developmental stages were related to the duration of phloem sap ingestion. While the total duration of sap consumption at a given time was similar in all adelgid instars studied, the individual bouts of sap ingestion were much shorter in crawlers than in the sessile forms. The specific probing behavior of the mobile nymphs probably reflects the crawlers’ strategy to evaluate plant sap quality in different phloem vessels. It is likely that such strategy is a behavioral preadaptation for finding abundant food sources for permanent settling before crawlers develop into sessile nymphs and adult females. The feeding strategy of crawlers promotes the rapid dispersal of the population. Therefore, the control of A. laricis on L. decidua should focus on the early stages of the population development, which would most effectively reduce the final damage.

Homoeopathy in NIPAH Virus

Nipah virus disease outbreak occurred in Kerala in the month of May 2018. It happened in Kerala again in September 2023. As on 13th September 2023, two unnatural deaths from Kozhikode district were suspected to be due to Nipah virus infection. Again in Sept 14, 2023, TOI reports that Kerala reported its 5th case. In the absence of a definitive cure for this viral disease, the article peeps through the homoeopathic lens & explores what it can offer to deal with this viral episode. The success of homoeopathy in COVID 19 again reiterates the fact that as homoeopathy was & is effective against viral infections; it is effective against Nipah virus disease also [2]. Nipah virus is an enveloped RNA virus that has been a major cause of encephalitis outbreaks with high mortality primarily in the Indo-Bangladesh regions. The first breakout was in Malaysia-Singapore that was related to contact with pigs & the outbreak in Phillipines associated with horse slaughter. Most other out breaks has affected the Indo- Bangladesh regions. Here, the outbreaks were associated with consumption of raw date palm sap contaminated by fruit bats & had a very high secondary attack rate [3].

Human Exposure to Bats, Rodents and Monkeys in Bangladesh.

Bats, rodents and monkeys are reservoirs for emerging zoonotic infections. We sought to describe the frequency of human exposure to these animals and the seasonal and geographic variation of these exposures in Bangladesh. During 2013-2016, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in a nationally representative sample of 10,002 households from 1001 randomly selected communities. We interviewed household members about exposures to bats, rodents and monkeys, including a key human-bat interface-raw date palm sap consumption. Respondents reported observing rodents (90%), bats (52%) and monkeys (2%) in or around their households, although fewer reported direct contact. The presence of monkeys around the household was reported more often in Sylhet division (7%) compared to other divisions. Households in Khulna (17%) and Rajshahi (13%) were more likely to report drinking date palm sap than in other divisions (1.5-5.6%). Date palm sap was mostly consumed during winter with higher frequencies in January (16%) and February (12%) than in other months (0-5.6%). There was a decreasing trend in drinking sap over the three years. Overall, we observed substantial geographic and seasonal patterns in human exposure to animals that could be sources of zoonotic disease. These findings could facilitate targeting emerging zoonoses surveillance, research and prevention efforts to areas and seasons with the highest levels of exposure.

Vertical Transfer of Humoral Immunity against Nipah Virus: A Novel Evidence from Bangladesh.

A major obstacle to in-depth investigation of the immune response against Nipah virus (NiV) infection is its rapid progression and high mortality rate. This paper described novel information on the vertical transfer of immune properties. In January 2020, a female aged below five years and her mother from Faridpur district of Bangladesh were infected. Both had a history of raw date palm sap consumption and were diagnosed as confirmed NiV cases. The daughter passed away, and the mother survived with significant residual neurological impairment. She conceived one and a half year later and was under thorough antenatal follow-up by the surveillance authority. A healthy male baby was born. As part of routine survivor follow-up, specimens were collected from the newborn and tested for NiV infection at the reference laboratory to exclude vertical transmission. Although testing negative for anti-Nipah IgM and PCR for NiV, a high titre of anti-Nipah IgG was observed. The transfer of humoral immunity against NiV from mother to neonate was confirmed for the first time. The article will serve as a reference for further exploration regarding NiV-specific antibodies that are transferred through the placenta, their potential to protect newborns, and how this may influence vaccine recommendations.

Antifeedant Potential of Geranylacetone and Nerylacetone and Their Epoxy-Derivatives against Myzus persicae (Sulz.).

Geranylacetone and nerylacetone are natural sesquiterpenoids, which play various roles in plant-insect interactions, including the deterrent and repellent effects on herbivores. The structural modifications of natural compounds often change their biological activities. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of geranylacetone, nerylacetone and their epoxy-derivatives on the probing and settling behavior of Myzus persicae (Sulz.) (Hemiptera: Aphididae). The no-choice test using the Electrical Penetration Graph (EPG) technique showed that the probes before the first phloem phase were usually shorter than 3 min, which means that they were terminated within the epidermis and/or outer layers of mesophyll. This resulted in a tendency to delay the initiation of the phloem phase in aphids, which reflects a weak preingestive deterrent activity of the studied compounds at the level of non-vascular tissues. Most M. persicae showed bouts of sustained phloem sap ingestion. However, the 24-h free-choice test demonstrated that aphids did not settle on the leaves treated with geranylacetone, nerylacetone, and their epoxy-derivatives. The refusal to settle after the consumption of phloem sap on treated plants indicated that the studied compounds had postingestive deterrent activity. The epoxidation of geranylacetone and nerylacetone did not evoke significant changes in their activity profiles.

Nipah Virus: An Updated Review and Emerging Challenges

Many hospitals are teetering on the edge of being overwhelmed, with many already there because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, a recent report has also warned about the Nipah virus (NiV). NiV is a pleomorphic enveloped virus that belongs to the Paramyxoviridae family (genus Henipavirus); it affects both the respiratory and central nervous systems, with a fatality rate ranging from 40% to 75%, as documented by the World Health Organization. The first reported NiV outbreak was in early 1999 in Malaysia among people who contacted infected pigs. NiV also affected Bangladesh and India, where the main infection route was the consumption of raw date palm sap contaminated by bats. The World Health Organization has listed NiV as one of the emerging pathogens that can lead to severe outbreaks at any moment in the future with limited medical preparations and only a few projects in pharmaceutical firms. There is no licensed treatment for human use against NiV until now, and the management is limited to supportive care and symptomatic treatment. In severe cases with neurologic and respiratory complications, intensive care is needed. This article reviews the published literature and highlights the latest updates about this emerging pathogen and the methods to avoid the spread of this disease during this critical period.

Seasonality of Date Palm Sap Feeding Behavior by Bats in Bangladesh.

Pteropus bats are the natural reservoir for Nipah virus, and in Bangladesh, it is transmitted to people through consumption of raw or fermented date palm sap. Our objective was to understand seasonal patterns of bat feeding on date palm sap at a location where sap is collected year-round. Seven nights each month over three years, we mounted infrared cameras in four trees to observe bats' feeding behavior at date palm trees harvested for fermented sap production. We described the frequency of bat visits, duration of bat visits, and duration of bat-sap contact by month and by year. We captured 42,873 bat visits during 256 camera-nights of observation, of which 3% were Pteropus and 94% were non-Pteropus bats. Though the frequency of Pteropus bat visits to each tree/night was much lower than non-Pteropus bat visits, Pteropus bats stayed in contact with sap longer than non-Pteropus bats. Frequency of bat visits was higher during winter compared to other seasons, which may arise as a consequence of limited availability of food sources during this period or may be related to seasonal characteristics of the sap. Seasonal alignment of sap consumption by humans and bats may have consequences for viral spillover into humans.

CEDAR WAXWINGS (BOMBYCILLA CEDRORUM) FEEDING ON BIRCH SAP AT RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER (SPHYRAPICUS NUCHALIS) SAP WELLS

In late June 2020 in western Montana we observed up to 10 Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) feeding on tree sap at Red-naped Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis) sap wells excavated on 2 limbs of a Water Birch (Betula occidentalis). These observations constitute (a) the 1st report of waxwings feeding at sap wells created by sapsuckers of any species; (b) the 1st report of waxwings feeding on tree sap in early summer; and (c) the 1st report of the consumption of birch sap by this waxwing species. The Cedar Waxwings may have sought tree sap because of the limited availability of early-summer sugary fruits at the time of our observations in combination with the presence of new clusters of sap wells created by at least 1 pair of sapsuckers near where the waxwings were beginning to breed. The prevalent sugars in birch sap (glucose, fructose) are also those most efficiently assimilated by Cedar Waxwings and may have contributed in attracting the waxwings to the sapsucker wells.

Ecology and biology of the parasitoid Trechnites insidiosus and its potential for biological control of pear psyllids.

Pear cultivation accounts for a large proportion of worldwide orchards, but its sustainability is controversial because it relies on intensive use of pesticides. It is therefore crucial and timely to find alternative methods to chemical control in pear orchards. The psyllids Cacopsylla pyri and Cacopsylla pyricola are the most important pests of pear trees in Europe and North America, respectively, because they infest all commercial varieties, causing damage directly through sap consumption or indirectly through the spread of diseases. A set of natural enemies exists, ranging from generalist predators to specialist parasitoids. Trechnites insidiosus (Crawford) is undoubtedly the most abundant specialist parasitoid of psyllids. In our literature review, we highlight the potential of this encyrtid species as a biological control agent of psyllid pests by first reviewing its biology and ecology, and then considering its potential at regulating psyllids. We show that the parasitoid can express fairly high parasitism rates in orchards, and almost perfectly matches the phenology of its host and is present early in the host infestation season, which is an advantage for controlling immature stages of psyllids. We propose new research directions and innovative approaches that would improve the use of T. insidiosus in integrated pest management strategies in the future, regarding both augmentative and conservation biocontrol. We conclude that T. insidiosus has many advantages and should be included as part of integrated biological control strategies of pear psyllids, along with predators, in-field habitat conservation, and the rational use of compatible chemicals. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Frequent consumption of sap suggests that omnivory is widespread among Australian geckos.

The diets of many animals are influenced by resource availability, competition, and evolutionary selected traits enabling the utilization of palatable foods. Omnivores are species that maintain their macronutrient balance by supplementing highly abundant but poor nutritional quality food items, with sporadically available but high nutritional quality food items. Although there are anecdotal observations of Australian geckos (Lacertilia: Gekkonidae) consuming plant exudates, the consumption of plant material has long been considered to be anomalous behavior among Australian geckos. Here, we test the idea that sap feeding may not be anomalous behavior but instead a dietary niche of geckos that has gone unappreciated due to constraints on the methods used to quantify geckos' diets. We tested this idea by investigating the consumption of Acacia victoriae gum by the gecko Gehyra versicolor using timed searches and time-lapse photography. We found that geckos frequently consumed gum, and G. versicolor numbers were five times greater on A. victoriae trees that exhibited significant gum bleeds compared to gecko numbers on non-bleeding trees. Taken together, our observations that G. versicolor spp. frequently feed on gum along with anecdotal reports of geckos consuming gum provide compelling evidence that gum/sap feeding is not anomalous behavior and suggest that many Australian gecko species are omnivores whose diets include plant exudates and animal prey.

Acute Toxicity Evaluation of a Crude Sap Isolated from Nypa fruticants Wurmb. in Sprague Dawley Rats

Nypa fruticans Wurmb. (nipa palm) sap, locally known as air nira or tuak, is a sweet natural beverage in Malaysia with antioxidant potency beneficial for human health. However, nypa sap lacks scientific attention with no toxicity study has been established. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the acute toxicity of nypa sap in the female Sprague Dawley rats. Twenty-five female rats were randomly divided into one control group and four treated groups. Treated groups were orally administered with doses of 5, 50, 300, and 2000 mg/kg of nypa sap, while the control group had received normal saline solution. The animals’ vital signs and mortality were recorded daily at an interval of 30 min and continued up to 14 days. Their blood samples and organs were harvested for toxicity analysis to assess liver and kidney function, lipid profile, and full blood count. The acute toxicity test via measurement of the biochemical and haematological parameters had shown that there was no significant difference between the treated and control groups. However, the blood glucose level in the treated groups (at higher doses of 300 and 2000 mg/kg, respectively) was significantly decreased. A similar trend was recorded for mean corpuscular volume (MCV) albeit in the treated group of 50 mg/kg doses. Histopathological examination of the organs showed no signs of abnormality in both treated and untreated groups. Overall, the results showed that consumption of nypa sap is potentially safe with no acute toxic effect on the laboratory rat models.

Synthesis of novel phytol-derived \u03b3-butyrolactones and evaluation of their biological activity

The synthesis of phytol-derived γ-butyrolactones as well as their evaluation for deterrent activity towards peach-potato aphid Myzus persicae and antiproliferative activity against four selected cancer cell lines are reported. Products were obtained in good yields (19–96%) and their structures were fully characterized by spectroscopic data (NMR, HRMS). Four synthesized δ-halo-γ-lactones (4–7) are new and have not been previously described in the literature. In the choice test phytol (1) appeared deterrent to M. persicae, whereas modifications of its structure did not cause the avoidance of the treated leaves by the aphids. In contrast, aphids were attracted to the leaves treated with the new trans-δ-chloro-γ-lactone (6). Electrical Penetration Graph (EPG) technique applied to explore the aphid probing and feeding activity revealed that neither phytol nor lactone 6 affected aphid probing and the consumption of phloem sap, which means that both phytol and the lactone 6 might have acted as postingestive modifiers of aphid behavior. The results of in vitro antitumor assays showed that obtained phytol derivatives exhibit cytotoxic activity against studied cancer cell lines (leukemia, lung and colon carcinoma and its doxorubicin resistant subline). Halolactones 4–6 were identified as the compounds, which arrest cell cycle of leukemia cells mainly in G2/M and S phases.

Hospital-based zoonotic disease surveillance in Bangladesh: design, field data and difficulties.

Early detection of zoonotic diseases allows for the implementation of early response measures, reducing loss of human life and economic disruption. We implemented a surveillance system in hospitals in Bangladesh to screen acutely ill hospitalized patients with severe respiratory infection and meningoencephalitis for zoonotic exposures. Patients were screened for the risk of zoonotic exposures with five questions covering vocational exposures, sick domestic animal and wild animal contact, and date palm sap consumption in the three weeks preceding illness onset. Patients giving at least one positive response were considered a potential zoonotic exposure. From September 2013 to March 2017, a total of 11 429 hospitalized patients across 14 participating hospitals were screened for exposures. Overall, 2% of patients reported a potential zoonotic exposure in the three-week period prior to becoming ill. Sixteen per cent of hospitalized patients with reported exposures died. After routine surveillance diagnostic testing, 88% of patients admitted to the hospital after a potential zoonotic exposure did not have a laboratory diagnosed aetiology for their illness. Hospital-based surveillance systems such as the Bangladeshi example presented here could play an important future role in the early detection of zoonotic spillover diseases. This article is part of the theme issue 'Dynamic and integrative approaches to understanding pathogen spillover'.

Sap feeding by birds in southern Neotropical forests

The White-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes cactorum) drills wells in living branches and trunks of trees and shrubs to feed on sap flows, providing an energy-rich food resource for other bird species diverse in ecological attributes and taxonomic affinities. The aim of this study was to explore the avian assemblage that consumes sap from sap wells drilled by the White-fronted Woodpecker in 4 regions of Argentina distributed along an aridity gradient (precipitation and temperature), reaching from humid forest of the Chaco in the north to scrublands and open forest of the Monte in the south. We classified sap-feeding species according to the importance of nectar in their diet (specialist, facultative, or occasional nectarivores) and their efficiency in assimilation of sucrose (the main sugar in sap). We also compared the proportion of observed sap-feeding species with diversity of potential sap-feeding birds along the geographical aridity gradient. Forty-six bird species were recorded feeding at sap wells drilled by the White-fronted Woodpecker. Proportion of sap-feeding species was similar along the aridity gradient, and the type of diet and sucrase activity were not associated with the geographical aridity gradient. However, the proportion of occasional nectarivores with a low rate of sucrose assimilation was higher in Arid Monte (the most arid region) than in regions of lower aridity. Sap-feeding species could supplement their diets with sap, in varying degrees, during periods of scarcity of food resources, and White-fronted Woodpeckers through their sap wells could contribute to the persistence of this assemblage of sap-feeding bird species. Nevertheless, sap consumption by sapfeeding birds depends ultimately on the physiological and behavioral characteristics of each species.

Nipah virus disease: A rare and intractable disease.

Nipah virus, an enveloped ribonucleic acid virus, has been a major cause of encephalitis out-breaks with high mortality, primarily in the Indo-Bangladesh regions. Except for the first outbreak in Malaysia-Singapore, which was related to contact with pigs and the outbreak in Philippines associated with horse slaughter, most other outbreaks have affected the Indo- Bangladesh regions. The Indo-Bangladesh outbreaks were associated with consumption of raw date palm sap contaminated by fruit bats and had a very high secondary attack rate. The patient usually presents with fever, encephalitis and/or respiratory involvement with or without thrombocytopenia, leukopenia and transaminitis. Diagnosis can be confirmed by isolation and nucleic acid amplification in the acute phase or antibody detection during the convalescent phase. Treatment is mostly limited to supportive care and syndromic management of acute encephalitis syndrome. Ribavirin, m102.4 monoclonal antibody and favipiravir are the only anti-virals with some activity against Nipah virus. Standard precautions, hand hygiene and personal protective equipments are the cornerstone of comprehensive infection prevention and control strategy. With the recent outbreaks affecting newer geographical areas, there is a need for physicians to be aware of this disease and keep abreast of its current detection and management strategies.

Comparison of prediction tools to determine their reliability on calculating operational heating consumption by monitoring no-fines concrete dwellings

Nowadays most retrofit decisions are based on reducing CO2 / heating consumption. The aim of this study was to determine the reliability of three tools (RdSAP, SAP and IES) often used to predict these reductions. Three no-fines concrete (NFC) dwellings (C1, C2, and C3) with similar floor area and construction but different occupants were monitored. Key information about the thermal performance of the fabric; the behaviour of the occupants and the energy consumption was collected before and after 110 mm of external wall insulation (EWI) was added. The target was a 30% reduction on energy consumption due to the EWI. However, only C3 decreased it by 30% as expected, C2 only by 14% due to a subtle rebound effect and C1 actually increased consumption by 75%, due to rebound effect.Steady state tools (RdSAP and SAP) were found to be inaccurate in predicting the operational energy consumption of dwellings, only dynamic performance analysis software (IES) was suitable to carry out this type of prediction accurately. However, this type of software requires highly accurate and detailed information regarding: the baseline performance of the fabric, external weather conditions and, most importantly, accurate pre- and post- heating operational habits of the occupants. Few retrofitting projects have the resources and time to gather this information. Unless those are available, the retrofit decisions should be based in a different criteria, rather than using inaccurate SAP or RdSAP energy consumption predictions.The coefficient of heat loss of the fabric of a dwelling is independent of the occupants. SAP was found quick to calculate reasonable predictions of the coefficient, by using accurate fabric data, and to show the impact of different factors on the heat loss of the fabric. Therefore, it could be claimed that the coefficient of heat loss of the fabric is a suitable alternative criteria to make pre-retrofit decisions.

Convergence of Humans, Bats, Trees, and Culture in Nipah Virus Transmission, Bangladesh.

Preventing emergence of new zoonotic viruses depends on understanding determinants for human risk. Nipah virus (NiV) is a lethal zoonotic pathogen that has spilled over from bats into human populations, with limited person-to-person transmission. We examined ecologic and human behavioral drivers of geographic variation for risk of NiV infection in Bangladesh. We visited 60 villages during 2011–2013 where cases of infection with NiV were identified and 147 control villages. We compared case villages with control villages for most likely drivers for risk of infection, including number of bats, persons, and date palm sap trees, and human date palm sap consumption behavior. Case villages were similar to control villages in many ways, including number of bats, persons, and date palm sap trees, but had a higher proportion of households in which someone drank sap. Reducing human consumption of sap could reduce virus transmission and risk for emergence of a more highly transmissible NiV strain.

Investigating Rare Risk Factors for Nipah Virus in Bangladesh: 2001-2012.

Human Nipah encephalitis outbreaks have been identified almost yearly in Bangladesh since 2001. Though raw date palm sap consumption and person-to-person contact are recognized as major transmission pathways, alternative pathways of transmission are plausible and may not have been identified due to limited statistical power in each outbreak. We conducted a risk factor analysis using all 157 cases and 632 controls surveyed in previous investigations during 2004-2012 to identify exposures independently associated with Nipah, since date palm sap was first asked about as an exposure in 2004. To further explore possible rare exposures, we also conducted in-depth interviews with all cases, or proxies, since 2001 that reported no exposure to date palm sap or contact with another case. Cases were 4.9 (95% 3.2-7.7) times more likely to consume raw date palm sap and 7.3 (95% 4.0-13.4) times more likely to have contact with a Nipah case than controls. In-depth interviews revealed that 39/182 (21%) of Nipah cases reporting neither date palm sap consumption nor contact with another case were misclassified. Prevention efforts should be focused on interventions to interrupt transmission through date palm sap consumption and person-to-person contact. Furthermore, pooling outbreak investigation data is a good method for assessing rare exposures.

It's not only what you say, it's also how you say it: communicating nipah virus prevention messages during an outbreak in Bangladesh.

BackgroundDuring a fatal Nipah virus (NiV) outbreak in Bangladesh, residents rejected biomedical explanations of NiV transmission and treatment and lost trust in the public healthcare system. Field anthropologists developed and communicated a prevention strategy to bridge the gap between the biomedical and local explanation of the outbreak.MethodsWe explored residents’ beliefs and perceptions about the illness and care-seeking practices and explained prevention messages following an interactive strategy with the aid of photos showed the types of contact that can lead to NiV transmission from bats to humans by drinking raw date palm sap and from person-to-person.ResultsThe residents initially believed that the outbreak was caused by supernatural forces and continued drinking raw date palm sap despite messages from local health authorities to stop. Participants in community meetings stated that the initial messages did not explain that bats were the source of this virus. After our intervention, participants responded that they now understood how NiV could be transmitted and would abstain from raw sap consumption and maintain safer behaviours while caring for patients.ConclusionsDuring outbreaks, one-way behaviour change communication without meaningful causal explanations is unlikely to be effective. Based on the cultural context, interactive communication strategies in lay language with supporting evidence can make biomedical prevention messages credible in affected communities, even among those who initially invoke supernatural causal explanations.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3416-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.