Background and Purpose. Traditional management of sickle cell disease (SCD) is ubiquitous in Africa. In south-eastern Nigeria, Telfairia occidentalis (T. occidentalis) is strongly recommended for consumption by SCD patients, owing to its presumed therapeutic effect. This study investigates the antisickling and membrane regenerative potentials of T. occidentalis in sickled erythrocytes. Experime...

BACKGROUND Many species of Nicotiana section Suaveolentes produce inviable F(1) hybrids after crossing with Nicotiana tabacum (genome constitution SSTT), a phenomenon that is often called hybrid lethality. Through crosses with monosomic lines of N. tabacum lacking a Q chromosome, we previously determined that hybrid lethality is caused by interaction between gene(s) on the Q chromosome belongin...

Evaluation of the effect of hydroalcoholic extracts of Cassia occidentalis in paw edema induced by Carrageenan in Rats. The effect of oral administration of hydroalcoholic extract of Cassia occidentalis seeds on carrageenan induced inflammation has been studied and is compared with the effect of oral administration of Diclofenac sodium as standard on rats. A carrageenan resulted in paw edema. S...

Feeding by the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), causes damage to the fruits of vegetables, and the species is the key vector of Tomato spotted wilt virus . Frankliniella tritici (Fitch) and Frankliniella bispinosa (Morgan) are not pests of fruiting vegetables. Both species compete with F. occidentalis . Effective management of F. occidentalis in pepper integrates co...

Hybridization between the introduced arborescent Opuntia ficus-indica and the native shrubby O. littoralis has led to populations, referred to as O. "occidentalis," which form thickets that can dominate hillsides of chaparral and that can survive fires. Because the thickets apparently develop via vegetative reproduction, O. "occidentalis" was hypothesized to have a greater ability than its pare...

The entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana and the predatory mite Neoseiulus barkeri are both potential biocontrol agents for their shared host/prey Frankliniella occidentalis. The combination of the two agents may enhance biological control of F. occidentalis if the fungus does not negatively affect N. barkeri. This study evaluated the indirect effects of B. bassiana strain SZ-26 on N. bar...

Clathrin heavy chain has been shown to be important for viability, embryogenesis, and RNA interference (RNAi) in arthropods such as Drosophila melanogaster. However, the functional roles of clathrin heavy chain in chelicerate arthropods, such as the predatory mite Metaseiulus occidentalis, remain unknown. We previously showed that dsRNA ingestion, followed by feeding on spider mites, induced sy...

Variations within local topography can effectively impact the location of tree species naturally forested areas. Furthermore, uncertainty prediction for classification vastly differ amongst and overlying groupings. This study investigated supplementation a suite topographic features corresponding to morphometry hydrological considerations, in addition multispectral imagery other LiDAR-derived f...

Both orchard and adjacent native vegetation harboured adult western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), from early spring until fall. Frankliniella occidentalis made up the great majority of adults collected in flowers of most plant species sampled, including apple. Other species found on apple flowers included Anaphothrips obscurus Müller, which live...

Recently, most foodborne illness outbreaks of salmonellosis have been caused by consumption of contaminated fresh produce. Yet, the mechanisms that allow the human pathogen Salmonella enterica to contaminate and grow in plant environments remain poorly described. We examined the effect of feeding by phytophagous insects on survival of S. enterica on lettuce. Larger S. enterica populations were ...