Genetic Diversity of Brucella melitensis Isolated from Domestic Ruminants in Iraq.

The control and eradication of brucellosis represents a critical objective for Veterinary and Health Authorities across several countries globally. Efficient surveillance programs play a pivotal role in detecting and managing outbreaks. Epidemiological investigations significantly benefit from standardized and efficient molecular typing techniques and analytical tools, enabling public health laboratories to identify the origin of outbreaks. This study aimed to sequence Brucella spp. strains isolated in Iraq from different ruminant species to verify their molecular epidemiological correlations and, above all, to shed a light on how these Iraqi isolates are positioned in the phylogenetic context of Brucella spp. The 35 isolates under study were from abortion, milk, placenta, and the fetal membranes of sheep, cattle, and buffalo. Genotyping involved various techniques: MLVA-16, Whole Genome Sequencing, MLST, and cgMLST. All the Iraqi isolates from our study clustered in MLVA-16 within the East Mediterranean clade, and all but one grouped together in the same branch of the MST tree. MST analysis showed the minimum distance of one allele between the studied isolates, except for one strain from buffalo, which was positioned farther away from the rest of the isolates. In cgMLST, the majority of strains grouped within a large cluster predominantly comprising genotypes from the Middle East. The application of different control measures in different territories based on molecular epidemiological studies would increase the chances of maximizing public health benefits and minimizing the spread of infection to disease-free or lower prevalence areas.

Microwave-Assisted Hydrodistillation of the Insecticidal Essential Oil from Carlina acaulis: A Fractional Factorial Design Optimization Study.

Recently, microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAH) has been reported as an innovative technique leading to increased essential oil (EO) extraction yield, coupled with reduced extraction time and energy costs. The EO of Carlina acaulis L. (Asteraceae), mainly constituted by carlina oxide (>95%) and conventionally obtained through traditional hydrodistillation (HD), has been reported as extremely effective against several arthropod vectors and pests of medical and economic importance with limited impact on non-target species, including mammals. This study aimed to the optimization of the EO extraction through MAH by using a one-step design of experiments (DoE) approach that allowed us to relate the characteristics of the produced EOs with the applied experimental conditions using mathematical models. The preliminary screening allowed us to optimize the protocol only by the extraction time, skipping complex data analysis. Moreover, the comparison of the optimized MAH conditions with traditional HD pointed out the higher efficiency of MAH in terms of EO yield (0.65 and 0.49% for MAH and HD, respectively) and extraction time (210 min for MAH). The results obtained confirmed the promising role that MAH could have in C. acaulis EO extraction, with increased yield and reduced extraction time, water consumption, and energy costs, and being employable on an industrial scale, with special reference to insecticidal and acaricidal formulations.