Free and open-source software for object detection, size, and colour determination for use in plant phenotyping.

Background: Object detection, size determination, and colour detection of images are tools commonly used in plant science. Key examples of this include identification of ripening stages of fruit such as tomatoes and the determination of chlorophyll content as an indicator of plant health. While methods exist for determining these important phenotypes, they often require proprietary software or require coding knowledge to adapt existing code.

Space controlled environment agriculture offers pathways to improve the sustainability of controlled environmental agriculture on Earth.

Terrestrial controlled environment agriculture (CEA) will have an increasingly important role in food production. However, present CEA systems are energy- and resource-hungry and rarely profitable, requiring a step change in design and optimization. Here we argue that the unique nature of space controlled environment agriculture (SpaCEA), which needs to be both highly resource efficient and circular in design, presents an opportunity to develop intrinsically circular CEA systems.

Carbon Dioxide Laser Rejuvenation of the Facial Skin.

This article reviews the evaluation and techniques for facial skin rejuvenation using the fractionated carbon dioxide laser. It includes a detailed overview of laser skin rejuvenation and discusses the potential complications associated with this procedure. A review of clinical outcomes in the literature is also included.

Rational Design of a Polyurethane Foam.

Polyurethane (PU) foams are exceptionally versatile due to the nature of PU bond formation and the large variety of polymeric backbones and formulation components such as catalysts and surfactants. This versatility introduces a challenge, namely a near unlimited number of variables for formulating foams. In addition to this, PU foam development requires expert knowledge, not only in polyurethane chemistry but also in the art of evaluating the resulting foams.

FoamPi: An open-source raspberry Pi based apparatus for monitoring polyurethane foam reactions.

Adiabatic temperature rise is an important method for determining isocyanate conversion in polyurethane foam reactions as well as many other exothermic chemical reactions. Adiabatic temperature rise can be used in conjunction with change in height and mass measurements to gain understanding into the blowing and gelling reactions that occur during polyurethane foaming as well as give important information on cell morphology. FoamPi is an open-source Raspberry Pi device for monitoring polyurethane foaming reactions.

Carbon Dioxide Laser Rejuvenation of the Facial Skin.

This article reviews the evaluation and techniques for facial skin rejuvenation using the fractionated carbon dioxide laser. It includes a detailed overview of laser skin rejuvenation and discusses the potential complications associated with this procedure. A review of clinical outcomes in the literature is also included.

Differences in the protection elicited by a recombinant Teladorsagia circumcincta vaccine in weaned lambs of two Canarian sheep breeds.

Gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infections are a serious drawback on small ruminant production. Since anthelmintic resistance has extended, optimisation of alternative non-chemical control strategies has attracted interest. Recently, a prototype recombinant vaccine protected immunologically mature sheep from Texel-cross and Canaria Sheep breeds against Teladorsagia circumcincta.

Cellular and humoral immune responses associated with protection in sheep vaccinated against Teladorsagia circumcincta.

Due to increased anthelmintic resistance, complementary methods to drugs are necessary to control gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN). Vaccines are an environmentally-friendly and promising option. In a previous study, a Teladorsagia circumcincta recombinant sub-unit vaccine was administered to two sheep breeds with different levels of resistance against GIN.

Lessons of the month: A misunderstood teenager with paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome - temporarily associated with SARS-CoV-2 admitted under adult medicine.

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has proven to be a challenge to healthcare bodies globally. The virus has been associated with a spectrum of clinical features, from anosmia to gastrointestinal upset to multiorgan dysfunction in the most severe cases. Given the range of features observed, it is important to be aware that infectious diseases can present atypically.

Dengue Fever and COVID-19 Co-Infection at the Emergency Department of a Tertiary Care Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Introduction: Co-infection with COVID-19 and other viral or bacterial infections has been described in many studies. Most cases of dengue fever in Saudi Arabia have been reported in Jeddah city and mainly during the summer season.

Method And Results: We describe four patients who presented to the emergency department with febrile illness accompanied by symptoms and blood tests suggestive of dengue fever.

Septal Perfoplasty for Management of Symptomatic Nasal Septal Perforation: An Alternative to Surgical Closure.

Symptomatic septal perforations are often difficult to manage and can have a significant impact on patient quality of life. Available surgical techniques for repair have demonstrated a varying rate of success, presenting a need for reliable interventions targeting symptom control. To describe the modified surgical technique here termed septal perfoplasty.

Impacts of breed type and vaccination on Teladorsagia circumcincta infection in native sheep in Gran Canaria.

Vaccines and genetic resistance offer potential future alternatives to the exclusive use of anthelmintics to control gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN). Here, a Teladorsagia circumcincta prototype vaccine was administered to two sheep breeds which differ in their relative levels of resistance to infection with GIN. Vaccination of the more susceptible Canaria Sheep (CS) breed induced significant reductions in worm length and numbers of worm eggs in utero (EIU) when compared to control CS sheep.

Draft Genome Assembly of the Poultry Red Mite, .

The poultry red mite, , is a major worldwide concern in the egg-laying industry. Here, we report the first draft genome assembly and gene prediction of , based on combined PacBio and MinION long-read sequencing. The ∼959-Mb genome is predicted to encode 14,608 protein-coding genes.

Gene silencing by RNA interference in the ectoparasitic mite, Psoroptes ovis.

The presence of components of the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway in Psoroptes ovis, an ectoparasitic mite responsible for psoroptic mange, was investigated through interrogation of the P. ovis genome. Homologues of transcripts representing critical elements for achieving effective RNAi in the mite, Tetranychus urticae and the model organisms Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster were identified and, following the development of a non-invasive immersion method of double stranded RNA delivery, gene silencing by RNAi was successfully demonstrated in P.

Serum and acute phase protein changes in laying hens, infested with poultry red mite.

The poultry red mite (PRM) is one of the most economically important ectoparasites of laying hens globally. This mite can have significant deleterious effects on its fowl host including distress, anemia, reduced egg production, and reduced egg quality. This study was conducted to evaluate the influence of PRM on the serum protein profile in laying hens and its effect on the acute phase proteins (APPs) to assess their potential as biomarkers for mite infestation.

Draft Genome Assembly of the Sheep Scab Mite, Psoroptes ovis.

Sheep scab, caused by infestation with , is highly contagious, results in intense pruritus, and represents a major welfare and economic concern. Here, we report the first draft genome assembly and gene prediction of based on PacBio sequencing. The ∼63.

Field evaluation of poultry red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) native and recombinant prototype vaccines.

Vaccination is a desirable emerging strategy to combat poultry red mite (PRM), Dermanyssus gallinae. We performed trials, in laying hens in a commercial-style cage facility, to test the vaccine efficacy of a native preparation of soluble mite extract (SME) and of a recombinant antigen cocktail vaccine containing bacterially-expressed versions of the immunogenic SME proteins Deg-SRP-1, Deg-VIT-1 and Deg-PUF-1. Hens (n=384 per group) were injected with either vaccine or adjuvant only (control group) at 12 and 17 weeks of age and then challenged with PRM 10days later.

Niche-specific gene expression in a parasitic nematode; increased expression of immunomodulators in Teladorsagia circumcincta larvae derived from host mucosa.

Metazoan parasites have to survive in many different niches in order to complete their life-cycles. In the absence of reliable methods to manipulate parasite genomes and/or proteomes, identification of the molecules critical for parasite survival within these niches has largely depended on comparative transcriptomic and proteomic analyses of different developmental stages of the parasite; however, changes may reflect differences associated with transition between developmental stages rather than specific adaptations to a particular niche. In this study, we compared the transcriptome of two fourth-stage larval populations of the nematode parasite, Teladorsagia circumcincta, which were of the same developmental stage but differed in their location within the abomasum, being either mucosal-dwelling (MD) or lumen-dwelling (LD).

Characterisation of tropomyosin and paramyosin as vaccine candidate molecules for the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae.

Background: Dermanyssus gallinae is the most economically important haematophagous ectoparasite in commercial egg laying flocks worldwide. It infests the hens during the night where it causes irritation leading to restlessness, pecking and in extreme cases anaemia and increased cannibalism. Due to an increase in the occurrence of acaricide-resistant D.

Facial nerve repair after operative injury: Impact of timing on hypoglossal-facial nerve graft outcomes.

Purpose: Reanimation of facial paralysis is a complex problem with multiple treatment options. One option is hypoglossal-facial nerve grafting, which can be performed in the immediate postoperative period after nerve transection, or in a delayed setting after skull base surgery when the nerve is anatomically intact but function is poor. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of timing of hypoglossal-facial grafting on functional outcome.

Incorporating Postoperative Debriefing Into Surgical Education.

Purpose: We investigated the feasibility and utility of a postoperative "debriefing" process to improve the educational value of surgical procedures.

Methods: Residents provided a baseline preintervention assessment of personal and attending surgeon current practice for seeking and receiving feedback on performance after an operative case. Surgeons subsequently were educated (the intervention) about the purpose and content of the postoperative debriefing initiative.

Characterisation of Dermanyssus gallinae glutathione S-transferases and their potential as acaricide detoxification proteins.

Background: Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) facilitate detoxification of drugs by catalysing the conjugation of the reduced glutathione (GSH) to electrophilic xenobiotic substrates and therefore have a function in multi-drug resistance. As a result, knowledge of GSTs can inform both drug resistance in, and novel interventions for, the control of endo- and ectoparasite species. Acaricide resistance and the need for novel control methods are both pressing needs for Dermanyssus gallinae, a highly economically important haematophagous ectoparasite of poultry.