A/C study protocol: a cross-sectional study of HIV epidemiology among African, Caribbean and Black people in Ontario.

INTRODUCTION: African, Caribbean and Black (ACB) communities are disproportionately infected by HIV in Ontario, Canada. They constitute only 5% of the population of Ontario yet account for 25% of new diagnoses of HIV. The aim of this study is to understand underlying factors that augment the HIV risk in ACB communities and to inform policy and practice in Ontario. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will conduct a cross-sectional study of first-generation and second-generation ACB adults aged 15-64 in Toronto (n=1000) and Ottawa (n=500) and collect data on sociodemographic information, sexual behaviours, substance use, blood donation, access and use of health services and HIV-related care. We will use dried blood spot testing to determine the incidence and prevalence of HIV infection among ACB people, and link participant data to administrative databases to investigate health service access and use. Factors associated with key outcomes (HIV infection, testing behaviours, knowledge about HIV transmission and acquisition, HIV vulnerability, access and use of health services) will be evaluated using generalised linear mixed models, adjusted for relevant covariates. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has been reviewed and approved by the following Research Ethics Boards: Toronto Public Health, Ottawa Public Health, Laurentian University; the University of Ottawa and the University of Toronto. Our findings will be disseminated as community reports, fact sheets, digital stories, oral and poster presentations, peer-reviewed manuscripts and social media.

Evidence for potential of managing some African fruit fly species (Diptera: Tephritidae) using the mango fruit fly host-marking pheromone.

We investigated conspecific and heterospecific oviposition host discrimination among four economically important fruit fly pests of mango in Africa (Ceratitis capitata, Wiedemann; C. fasciventris, Bezzi; C. rosa, Karsch, and C. cosyra, Walker) with regard to host-marking behavior and fecal matter aqueous solutions. The objective of the study was to get insight into the potential of managing these pests using the host-marking technique. Observations were done on mango slices marked by the flies and treated with aqueous solutions of fecal matter of the flies, respectively. In both host-marking and fecal matter experiments, C. cosyra, which is the most destructive species of the four on mango, was exceptional. It only discriminated against hosts treated with its fecal matter but with lower sensitivity while C. capitata and C.fasciventris discriminated against hosts marked by it or treated with its fecal matter and with higher sensitivity. Our results provide evidence for potential of managing some of the major fruit fly species infesting mango in Africa using the host-marking pheromone of the mango fruit fly, C. cosyra.

New antitrypanosomal tetranotriterpenoids from Azadirachta indica.

Organic extracts of the leaves of Azadirachta indica A. Juss. yielded ten antitrypanosomal terpenoids. Three of these (1-3), are novel and are derivatives of nimbolide and nimbin. They were extracted from chloroform fraction of methanol extract. These compounds were found to exhibit strong antitrypanosomal activities against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense with MIC values ranging of 6.9, 15.6 and 7.8 µg/ml respectively and were more active than Cymerlarsan (a standard drug), which had an MIC value of 187.5 µg/ml when tested against T. b. rhodesiense. The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including; NMR, MS, UV and IR.