Abstract. The negative impact of chemical pesticides on the environment and the increased resistance of tomato leafminer (Tuta absoluta) field populations to chemical pesticides have promoted research on alternative control measures. Biological control with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) may be an alternative, especially against larval instars of T. absoluta. A total of five B. thuringiensis strains were isolated from soil sampled from two different Cow range lands in Zaria, Nigeria; and they were screened for the presence of the cry1 genes using polymerase chain reaction. Of the five isolates, two (40%) showed the presence of the cry1 genes. Results of the bioassay conducted against 2nd instar larvae of T. absoluta at 28±2°C indicated that each of the concentrations (25, 50, 75 and 100 ppm) of the spore crystal mixtures derived from the isolates harbouring cry1 genes caused significant mortality to larvae of T. absoluta after 72 hours in comparison to the control (0 ppm). Probit analysis was used to determine the LC50 and LT50 values. When the treatments were assessed at 48 and 72 hours, LC50 values against larvae were 74.1 and 25.3 ppm for isolate F3, while the LT50 values of that same isolate F3 at 100 ppm and 75 ppm were 36.3 and 42.7 hours, respectively. B. thuringiensis strain F2 achieved 68.7% reduction in T. absoluta damage on tomato plants, while B. thuringiensis isolate F3 achieved 71.3% reduction. Therefore, the spore crystal mixture derived from indigenous Bt strains is the candidate to be used for foliar application against T. absoluta and it is recommended into integrated pest control strategies for the management of T. absoluta.

The misuse of antibiotics had contributed significantly to the development of antibiotic resistance, hence decreasing its efficacy. Non-typhoidal Salmonella is a global problem causing gastroenteritis in humans. Since there are various antibiotics in treating Salmonella infections, its potential to become multidrug-resistant remains a considerable problem. The use of host-specific bacteriophages as a biocontrol is one possible intervention by which Salmonella colonization could be reduced. Isolated and purified from sewage water, a dose of 4.30 x 10 sup 10 PFU (plaque-forming units) Salmonella phages were used to treat gastroenteritis on streptomycin-mouse models. Lack of treatment yielded 2.06 x 10 sup 6 CFU (colony-forming units)/g of Salmonella 24 h post-infection, which exponentially dropped to 3.80 x 10 sup 3 CFU/g 24 h post-infection in bacteriophage treatment before gradually decreasing. However, the antibiotic treatment inhibited growth with 3.58 x 102 CFU/g 24 h post-infection, but it did not retain the decrease of the pathogen. Results also showed that the microflora of the gut was preserved with the appearance of various colonies in phage treatment, which aided recovery in a phenomenon known as 'microbial interference.' In contrast, antibiotic treatment depleted the normal microflora, allowing colonization of Salmonella and resurgence of pathogenic growth in the gut. Bacteriophage therapy demonstrated a significant decrease in bacterial load when compared to the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. The high specificity of the treatment also allowed the phages to synergize with the gut microbiota, thereby inhibiting colonization and further increase in bacterial growth.

Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) is an important spice and cash crop in many countries of the world. An overall reduction in the yield of chilli due to arthropod pests was experienced upto 77%. The bioassay studies were investigated the field efficacy of botanicals against Thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood), Cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii Glover) and Yellow mite (Polyphagotarsonemus latus Banks). The botanicals Mahua oil @ 5%, pungam oil soap flakes @ 5%, leaf powders of green chirayta @ 5% and lippia @ 5%, nimbicidin (1500ppm) were tested against sucking pest in the chilli field. The result revealed that lippia @ 5% and mahua oil @ 5% showed better effect against sucking pest in chilli.

Sorghum is susceptible to weed at its early growth stage. The aim of this efficacy trial was to ensurethat efficacy of chemical Glyphosate-isopropylammonium 41% SL on sorghum weeds control non-selectively before sorghum sowing. Thrice experiment was carried out in Humera area in Humera Agricultural Research Center, Semur farm and Desta Berhe farm during rainy growing season of 2019 using sorghum variety i.e. Brhan. Pre and post spray weed count were subjected to efficacy calculation. New product of herbicide, Glyphosate-isopropylammonium 41% SL (Glpho) at 3.00 lt a.i./ha was shown better performance than the standard check Glymax 48% SL (W/V). Therefore, the new Glpho product could be suggested as an alternative non-selective herbicide before sorghum sowing.

Anthelmintic efficacy was investigated in nine sow herds that had been identified with high faecal egg counts in a prevalence study. Faecal samples were collected from a total of 104 individual sows, and analysed using a centrifugal flotation McMaster technique. Samples positive for strongyle eggs were cultured to third stage larvae (L3) for genus identification and then further identified to Oesophagostomum species by sequencing. Following the initial sample collection, the sows were treated with either fenbendazole (FBZ, n = 5 farms) or ivermectin (IVM, n = 4 farms) at the recommended dosing and sampled again 14 days post treatment. Faecal Egg Count Reduction (FECR) was used to determine the treatment efficacy.With respect to Ascaris suum, the anthelmintic treatment was successful (FECR >90%) on the five farms where this parasite was detected, regardless of what drug had been used. In contrast, 4/9 farms were positive for Oesophagostomum spp. post treatment, out of which three had a FECR of <90%. These three herds had all been treated with injectable IVM. Out of the six farms where treatment showed good efficacy (FECR 95–100%), five herds had used FBZ and one herd IVM.This study is the first to recognise reduced efficacy to IVM on Oesophagostomum spp. in Swedish pigs. Sequencing of the Oesophagostomum L3 showed that both O. dentatum and O. quadrispinulatum were present on 5/9 farms pre-treatment and on 2/9 farms post-treatment, unrelated to what anthelmintic had been used. Given these findings we could not correlate the reduced efficacy by the species of Oesophagostomum present in the herd. Prolonged usage of only one class of anthelmintic may predispose selection of resistance and has been suspected as a cause of treatment failure of porcine Oesophagostomum spp. in other studies. On all three farms showing reduced efficacy, IVM had been used as the sole anthelmintic drug for several years, and two of the farms also used IVM twice or more per year to control sarcoptic mange. A reduced efficacy to the available anthelmintic drugs used in the control of Oesophagostomum spp., may result in a subsequent surge of the possible negative effects caused by this parasite.

Angiostrongylus cantonensis is the leading cause of eosinophilic meningitis worldwide, with life-threatening complications if not managed correctly. Previous in vitro studies have utilized change in motility patterns of adult female worms to assess the efficacy of anthelmintics qualitatively. However, it is the third stage larvae (L3) that are infectious to humans. With differential staining using propidium iodide penetration as the indicator of death, we can distinguish between dead and live larvae. This assay has enabled us to quantify the in vitro efficacy of nine clinically established anthelmintics on A. cantonensis L3. All drugs were tested at a 1 mm concentration. Piperazine and niclosamide were ineffective in inducing larval death; however, albendazole sulfoxide, pyrantel pamoate, diethylcarbamazine, levamisole and praziquantel were effective as compared to unexposed controls (P < 0.05). Ivermectin and moxidectin did not induce significant levels of mortality, but they considerably reduced larval motility almost immediately. This study indicates the need for further in vivo studies to determine the optimal dose and time frame for post-infection treatment with anthelmintics that demonstrated efficacy.

The efficacies of three short synthetic antifungal peptides were tested for their inhibitory action on pathogenic fungi, Aspergillus flavus. The sequences of the short synthetic peptides are PPD1- FRLHF, 66-10-FRLKFH, 77–3- FRLKFHF, respectively. These test peptides inhibited fungal growth and showed a membranolytic activity. The fungal biomass and ergosterol levels were significantly low in peptides treated samples. Further, the fungal cell wall component chitin was also found to be lower in peptides treated samples. Scanning electron microscopic images also showed highly wrinkled fungal mycelia. Significant membrane permeabilisation as well as potassium ion leakage was also observed in fungal samples treated with peptides. To assess the membrane damage, the uptake of Sytox green dye was employed. At tested concentration, peptides induced fungal membrane damage as evidenced by the green fluorescence. Further, at tested concentration, these peptides induced an oxidative stress in A.flavus as evidenced by an increase in the ROS production, malondialdehyde levels, increase in the antioxidant enzymes - superoxide dismutase, catalase with concomitant decrease in the reduced glutathione content. Additionally, a growth dependent reduction in aflatoxin levels were also observed in peptides treated samples. Docking studies on the interaction of the peptides with a trans-membrane protein calcium ATPase of A. flavus showed that all the peptides were able to bind to the protein with high z rank score. The activity of the calcium ATPase was significantly decreased in peptides treated fungal samples, thereby validating the docking results. Among all the tested peptides, 77–3 peptide exhibited the maximal membrane damage property.

Senecavirus A (SVA), formerly known as Seneca Valley virus (SVV), causes vesicular symptoms in adult pigs and acute death of neonatal piglets. This pathogen has emerged in major swine producing countries around the world and caused significant economic losses to the pig industry. Thus, it is necessary to develop strategies to prevent and control SVA infection. Herein, an SVA strain (named GD-ZYY02-2018) was isolated from a pig herd with vesicular symptoms in Guangdong province of China in 2018. The present study aimed to carry out the phylogenetic analysis of the GD-ZYY02-2018 strain, determine its pathogenicity in finishing pigs, and assess the protective efficacy of the inactivated GD-ZYY02-2018 strain against virus challenge. The results of phylogenetic analysis showed that the SVA GD-ZYY02-2018 strain belonged to the USA-like strains and had a close genetic relationship with recent Chinese SVA strains. Animal challenge experiment showed that 100-day-old pigs inoculated intranasally with SVA GD-ZYY02-2018 strain developed vesicular lesion, low fever, viremia, and virus shedding in feces. The immunization challenge experiment showed that pigs vaccinated with inactivated GD-ZYY02-2018 strain could produce a high titer of anti-SVA neutralizing antibody and no vesicular lesion, fever, viremia, and virus shedding in feces was observed in vaccinated pigs after challenge with GD-ZYY02-2018 strain, indicating that inactivated GD-ZYY02-2018 could protect finishing pigs against the challenge of homologous virus. In conclusion, preliminary results indicated that inactivated GD-ZYY02-2018 could be used as a candidate vaccine for in-depth research and might be conducive to the prevention and control of SVA infection.

Past studies have shown that acculturation and self-efficacy can affect respite care knowledge, which are notable issues among immigrant caregivers due to the rapid increasing aging family members. The aim of this study was to investigate relationships among acculturation, self-efficacy, and respite care knowledge in immigrant caregivers, and to determine the mediating effects of self-efficacy on the relationship between acculturation and respite care knowledge. A cross-sectional design was used. We enrolled 134 female immigrant caregivers who had married Taiwanese men and lived with care recipients who used LTC services. Based on Baron and Kenny’ mediating analytic framework, multiple regression and Sobel tests were used to examine whether self-efficacy mediated the relationship between acculturation and respite care knowledge. The findings showed that after controlling for confounding factors, acculturation and self-efficacy separately affected respite care knowledge (B = 0.229, standard error (SE) = 0.084: B = 0.123, SE = 0.049, respectively). Acculturation had a positive impact on respite care knowledge through self-efficacy (B = 0.181, SE = 0.084). Therefore, self-efficacy partially mediated the effect of acculturation on respite care knowledge, and accounted for 20.9% of the total mediating effect in this study. Acculturation predicted immigrant caregiver’ respite care knowledge partially through self-efficacy. The association between acculturation and respite care knowledge was partially mediated by immigrant caregivers’ self-efficacy. As a result, it was proposed that boosting self-efficacy could increase and drive immigrant caregivers’ respite care knowledge. To assist this population in obtaining enough resources, targeted educational programs to promote immigrant caregivers’ self-efficacy should be designed and implemented. Furthermore, health care practitioners should be aware of the relevance of immigrant caregivers’ acculturation.