Distribution of Bombus haemorrhoidalis Smith and its Interrelationship with Host Plants in Chitwan Annapurna Landscape of Central Nepal

Occurrence and variety of flowering host plant of native Bombus pollinators are viewed as basicalternatives than the imported species. The use of native bumblebee species for pollination wasconsidered more significant than imported bumblebees to reduce environmental impact and pestproblems. B. haemorrhoidalis is the most dominant species of Chitwan Annapurna Landscape inagricultural and wild flora during April to September 2019. We followed assessable walking trailsand used insect net for sample collection. The effect of different environmental variables on the floralhost plant resources of this native bumblebee was examined. With eight locations ranging from 1407to 2506 meters above sea level, twenty-seven species of seventeen plant families were identified aspollen and nectar foraging host plants. B haemorrhidalis distribution frequency is correlated withrelative humidity (0.07438968) and altitude (0.495657857). The most visited plant family wasBalsaminaceae and plant was Imatian scrabida. This study gives the knowledge of abundance of hostplants, ecological and biological relationship of the B. haemorrhoidalis in Nepal

Yield Potential and Monetary Advantage Index of Maize Intercropped with Grain Legumes in Anyigba, Kogi State, Nigeria

Traditional mixtures of food crop species involve intercrop of plants with dissimilar size and growth cycle on the field. However, the Relative Yield Potential (RYP) and Land Equivalent Ratios (LER) of these mixtures are given less prejudice especially in monetary terms by ancient farmers. This necessitate an experiment conducted during the 2016 and 2018 rainy seasons. The treatments consisted of Maize (TZESR – Open Pollinated), Cowpea (Sampea - 7), Peanut (Samnut - 24) and Soybean (TGX 713 – 09D) as sole crops sown at seed rates of 25 and 50 kgha-1 for maize and legumes respectively. The grain legumes were intercropped with maize in the ratio of 4:1, 2:1 or 1:1 as additional rows in between the normal rows of maize planted at a spacing of 75 x 25cm. Results revealed that intercropping of maize with either cowpea, peanut or soybean in 2:1 ratio was most productive in terms of maize equivalent yield and declined thereafter, with increase in the legume proportion, though maintained its superiority over sole planting of maize. Maize intercropped with soybean in the ratios 4:1 gave the highest mean biological maize equivalent compared to its sole planting at different combinations of legumes. Maize + Peanut gave the highest mean Land Equivalent Ratio (1.81) followed by maize + Cowpea (1.74) and maize + soybean (1.59) all sown in the ratio of 2:1. Intercropping of legumes with maize appeared to be more aggressive than sole planting of maize or legumes. Maize + Peanut (2:1) gave the highest mean Monetary Advantage Index (MAI) of 7789.0, Mean Yield Index (MYI) of 79.0. However, regardless of the ratio in which Maize + peanut was combined, result of 47% MAI showed a greater biological relationship, effective competition, hence recommended. Highest cost/benefit ratio (5.09 and 4.45) was obtained with maize + soybean (4:1) during 2016 and 2018, respectively.

Molecular Biology of the WWOX Gene That Spans Chromosomal Fragile Site FRA16D

It is now more than 20 years since the FRA16D common chromosomal fragile site was characterised and the WWOX gene spanning this site was identified. In this time, much information has been discovered about its contribution to disease; however, the normal biological role of WWOX is not yet clear. Experiments leading to the identification of the WWOX gene are recounted, revealing enigmatic relationships between the fragile site, its gene and the encoded protein. We also highlight research mainly using the genetically tractable model organism Drosophila melanogaster that has shed light on the integral role of WWOX in metabolism. In addition to this role, there are some particularly outstanding questions that remain regarding WWOX, its gene and its chromosomal location. This review, therefore, also aims to highlight two unanswered questions. Firstly, what is the biological relationship between the WWOX gene and the FRA16D common chromosomal fragile site that is located within one of its very large introns? Secondly, what is the actual substrate and product of the WWOX enzyme activity? It is likely that understanding the normal role of WWOX and its relationship to chromosomal fragility are necessary in order to understand how the perturbation of these normal roles results in disease.

The Potential Contribution of ABO, Lewis and Secretor Histo-Blood Group Carbohydrates in Infection by Toxoplasma gondii

The glycosyltransferases encoded by genes from the human ABO, Lewis, and Secretor histo-blood group systems synthesize part of the carbohydrate antigens in hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic tissues. The combined action of these glycosyltransferases strongly influences cell, tissue, mucosa, and exocrine secretion carbohydrate phenotypes, including those serving as habitat for mutualistic and pathogenic microorganisms. A set of reports investigated associations between Toxoplasma gondii infection and the ABO histo-blood group system, but the results are contradictory. As T. gondii uses the gastrointestinal tract as a route for infection, and in this organ, the expression of ABO, Lewis, and Secretor histo-blood group carbohydrates occurs, it is reasonable to suppose some biological relationship between them. This text reviewed association studies published in recent decades focusing on the potential contribution of the ABO, Lewis, and Secretor histo-blood group carbohydrates and infection by T. gondii.

MO938PATIENT SURVIVAL AFTER LIVING DONOR KIDNEY DONATION

Background and Aims Living donor kidney transplantation [LDKT] is associated with best patient survival and life quality among kidney replacement therapies in case of chronic kidney disease. Yet, numerous previous studies have reported inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of recipient and donor characteristics on LDKT recipients in our center. Method All LDKT recipients from 01.01.1997 to 18.03.2020 were analyzed retrospectively. Based on the biological relationship between recipient and donor, recipients were grouped into “related” (biologically related) and “unrelated” (not related). Endpoints of this study were patient survival, death-censored graft survival and graft survival including death analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Independent risk factors were estimated with Cox-regression. Results Among 946 LDKT recipients we identified n=548 related and n=398 unrelated recipients. Over a median observation time of 6.3 years 9.1% (86) of grafts failed and 10.8% (102) of recipients died. Rates of graft failure and deaths were 8.8% and 7.1% in related recipients and 9.5% and 15.8% in unrelated recipients, respectively. Kaplan-Meier-analysis showed 5, 10 and 15 year overall patient survival of 93.8%, 85.6% and 76.0%; death-censored graft survival of 94.7%, and 87.3% and 79.8%; graft survival including death were 89.8%, 76.3% and 62.7%. There was a significant difference between subgroups in patient survival (p<0.001) and graft survival including death (p<0.001) but not in death-censored graft survival (p=0.280). (figure 1, 2, 3) In the multivariate analysis we observed recipient age in years (Hazard Ratio [HR]:1.08; p<0.001) and donor age in years (HR:0.97; p=0.008) to be independent risk factors for patient mortality. The occurrence of a delayed graft function (HR:2.52; p<0.001) as well as recipient age in years (HR:1.04; p<0.001) were risk factors for graft survival including death, while delayed graft function (HR:4.05; p<0.001) was the only independent risk factor for death-censored graft survival. Conclusion LDKT recipients without a biological relationship to their donors have an inferior patient survival and graft survival including death. The donor relationship as well as delayed graft function, recipient age and donor age should be taken into account during patient evaluation. Recipients subjected to these characteristics should be informed about their individual risks and carefully monitored long term. Further evaluations are needed particularly including the effects of immunosuppressive medication.

Systematic review of the association between ABO blood type and COVID-19 incidence and mortality

A large proportion of COVID-19 research has been focused on identifying markers of high-risk individuals. However, this research often fails to consider basic epidemiologic concepts to prevent bias in the design, selection, and analysis of observational data. One suspected marker of risk that has been repeatedly assessed is ABO blood type. Given the ease of measuring this biomarker, it is an appealing target for identifying high-risk individuals. However, this same ease of measurement makes associational research on ABO blood type and COVID prone to a range of common epidemiologic errors. We conducted a systematic review of studies assessing correlations between ABO blood type and COVID incidence, hospitalization, and mortality to determine the quality of evidence these studies provide and whether the overall evidence suggests ABO blood type could provide a useful indicator of COVID risk. We conclude that most existing studies are low quality and suffer from major methodological flaws. The few higher-quality studies which do exist find no association between ABO blood type and COVID outcomes. We conclude that there is no evidence to support the use of ABO blood type as a marker for COVID risk or severity.Key PointsThere is no sufficient evidence to conclude a biological relationship between ABO blood types and COVID-19 infection or severity.Biases of existing research could be avoided by careful study design.