Publications by authors named "T H Dafa'alla"

For more than 60 years, efforts to develop mating-based mosquito control technologies have largely failed to produce solutions that are both effective and scalable, keeping them out of reach of most governments and communities in disease-impacted regions globally. High pest suppression levels in trials have yet to fully translate into broad and effective control solutions. Two primary challenges to date-the need for complex sex-sorting to prevent female releases, and cumbersome processes for rearing and releasing male adult mosquitoes-present significant barriers for existing methods.

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Human Papillomavirus (HPV) testing on self-collected samples allows for improved coverage rates of cervical cancer (CC) screening programs. ThinPrep®PreservCyt® (HOLOGIC®, USA) medium is widely used for the suspension of cervical and vaginal self-samples. However, this medium is costly, toxic, and flammable, involving special handling procedures which make its use difficult in screening programs, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

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is an economically critical necrotrophic fungus that infecting many types of plants species. Although the lifestyle adaptations and genetic foundations of several enzymes and metabolites involved in virulence during host plant infection are well studied, the role of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) enzymes in these processes is poorly understood. Herein, we identified a significant up-regulation of the transcriptional levels of the gene during the tomato - strain B0510 interaction and at the early stage of infection.

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Background: Previous genetic pest management (GPM) systems in diamondback moth (DBM) have relied on expressing lethal proteins ('effectors') that are 'cell-autonomous', that is, they do not leave the cell in which they are expressed. To increase the flexibility of future GPM systems in DBM, we aimed to assess the use of a non-cell-autonomous, invertebrate-specific, neurotoxic effector - the scorpion toxin AaHIT. This AaHIT effector was designed to be secreted by expressing cells, potentially leading to effects on distant cells, specifically neuromuscular junctions.

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The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a pest control strategy involving the mass release of radiation-sterilized insects, which reduce the target population through nonviable matings. In Lepidoptera, SIT could be more broadly applicable if the deleterious effects of sterilization by irradiation could be avoided. Moreover, male-only release can improve the efficacy of SIT.

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