Soldier System

The yellow gene family plays a crucial role in insect pigmentation. It has potential for use as a visible marker gene in genetic manipulation and transgenic engineering in several model and non-model insects. Sadly, yellow genes have rarely been identified in Stratiomyidae species and the functions of yellow genes are relatively unknown. In the present study, we first manually annotated and curated 10 yellow genes in the black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens (Stratiomyidae). Then, the conserved amino acids in the major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs) domain, structural architecture and phylogenetic relationship of yellow genes in BSF were analyzed...

The aim of this study was to produce feed based on locally sourced ingredients for tambaqui farming in Amazon. Diets were formulated with increasing levels (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%) of defatted black soldier fly larvae meal (BSFL) as a replacement for fish meal (FM), and cassava by-products in the same proportion (tuber residues, peel and leaves). A conventional diet (CO) was used as the control. Juvenile tambaqui (24.61 ± 1.14 g) were housed in 24 tanks in a recirculation aquaculture system. Neither diet rejection nor mortality were observed...

U.S. service members are at an enhanced risk for developing mental disorders. To address these challenges, while promoting operational readiness and improving mental health outcomes, the Department of Defense directed each service component to develop and implement universal resilience enhancing programs. This paper provides a review of theoretical approaches conceptualizing resilience to trauma, including the theoretical foundations of programs currently in place. The resilience programs of U.S. Army, U.S...

INTRODUCTION: The population of the Republic of Korea often experiences heat-related illnesses during summer that are exacerbated by significant variations. With rising temperatures attributed to global warming and other environmental changes within the military, combined with the military medical services' mission to uphold combat capabilities and promote health, it has become crucial to accurately understand the status of heat-related illnesses and integrate more comprehensive and systematic preventive measures...

Livestock and dairy farmers are increasingly required to maintain productivity and profitability while mitigating the environmental harm associated with high-input agriculture. Accordingly, to reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers, a wide range of organically derived products are being evaluated for their effects on sward growth and forage quality. This study used glasshouse experiments to investigate the responses of four grass species to a novel organic fertilizer derived from the mass production of black soldier fly larvae [ Hermetia illucens , HexaFrass™, Meath, Ireland]...

Insects such as the black soldier fly (BSF) are recently being studied as food sources to address concerns about how to meet the food demand of the growing world population, as conventional production lines for meat proteins are currently unsustainable sources. Studies have been conducted evaluating the use of insect proteins to produce extruded foods such as expanded snacks and meat analogues. However, this field of study is still quite new and not much has been studied beyond digestibility and growth performance...

INTRODUCTION: Soldiers on the battlefield are affected by heavy body armor and excessive march load. It is well known, but the long-term effects of this extra weight on the musculoskeletal system of military veterans, specifically the lumbar spine, are unclear. In Iraq and Afghanistan, most body armors weighed over 33 pounds (15 kg). These armors were 3 times heavier than those used in Vietnam. Chiropractors at the Fargo VA Hospital are seeing more young veterans with non-traumatic lower back pain...

Tandem repeat genetic profiles used in forensic applications varies between populations. Despite the diversity and security issues in the Sahel that require the identification of victims (soldiers and civilians), Burkina Faso (BF) remains understudied. To fill this information gap, 396 unrelated individuals from BF were genotyped using a MICROREADER 21 ID System kit. All 20 short tandem repeat (STR) loci tested passed the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) test. The combined powers of exclusion for duos (CPE duos) and trios (CPE trios) for the 20 tested loci were 0...

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between subjects' oral health characteristics and the incidence of a dental emergency over 1 year. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Corporate Dental System (CDS) generated a limited data set for service members assigned for dental care at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. Data extracted included demographics and oral health characteristics (dental readiness classification, caries risk, periodontal screening and recording values (PSR), and tobacco use)...

Root-knot nematodes ( Meloidogyne spp.) are serious pests of most food crops, causing up to 100% yield loss. Nevertheless, commercial nematicides are costly and harmful to the environment. While the nematicidal potential of crustacean and synthetic chitin has been demonstrated globally, research on the potential of insect-derived chitin for nematode control has received limited attention. Here, seven chitin-fortified black soldier fly frass fertilizer extracts (chFE) were assessed for their suppressiveness of Meloidogyne incognita and impacts on spinach growth in comparison with a commercial nematicide using in vitro and in vivo bioassays...

Using synthetic microbial communities to promote host growth is an effective approach. However, the construction of such communities lacks theoretical guidance. Kin discrimination is an effective means by which strains can recognize themselves from non-self, and construct competitive microbial communities to produce more secondary metabolites. However, the construction of cooperative communities benefits from the widespread use of beneficial microorganisms. We used kin discrimination to construct synthetic communities (SCs) comprising 13 Bacillus subtilis strains from the surface and gut of black soldier fly (BSF) larvae...

BACKGROUND: To report a case of unusual presentation of retinochoroiditis caused by Rickettsia typhi in a patient without prior uveitis. CASE PRESENTATION: In this case, we describe a 24-year-old male soldier with no previous eye disease, who was referred to our ophthalmology department due to bilateral retinochoroiditis and vitritis. The patient initially presented with a paracentral scotoma in his right eye persisting for 7 days and scattered dark spots in his left eye for 2 days in June 2023...

The black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens, has the potential to serve as a valuable resource for waste bioconversion due to the ability of the larvae to thrive in a microbial-rich environment. Being an ecological decomposer, the survival of BSF larvae (BSFL) relies on developing an efficient defense system. Cathepsin L (CTSL) is a cysteine protease that plays roles in physiological and pathological processes. In this study, the full-length of CTSL was obtained from BSF. The 1,020-bp open reading frame encoded a preprotein of 339 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 32 kDa...

Introduction: The increasing global pressure to explore alternative protein sources derived from animal by-products has opened-up opportunities, but it has also created the need to assess their compliance with labelling statements, to ensure consumer's trust in the composition of both feed and food products. Assessing the authenticity of highly processed animal by-products, particularly within the rapidly expanding Halal food market, presents a significant challenge due to the lack of robust and standardized methodologies...

Military personnel are repeatedly exposed to multiple stressors, and are sometimes characterized by high levels of anger. Evidence suggests that this anger can become dysfunctional, and impact the health status of populations chronically exposed to stress. In particular, rumination (understood as perseverative thoughts about a past event), provides a theoretical framework for investigating how anger may impact stress regulation abilities in military personnel declared fit for deployment. This exploratory study aimed therefore to examine the impact of the anger profile on psychological suffering in terms of burnout and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), along with the reactivity of the autonomic nervous system, measured as cardiac variability...

OBJECTIVE: There is currently no widely accepted multidimensional health assessment questionnaire for individuals in the Chinese People Liberation Army (PLA). This study developed a multidimensional health survey questionnaire (Comprehensive Health Self-Assessment Questionnaire, CHSAQ) suitable for personnel in the PLA and conducted a preliminary examination of its reliability, validity, and discriminative ability. METHODS: After 183 items from 32 dimensions were selected to form the initial version of the CHSAQ, three groups of soldiers were selected from May 2022 to April 2023 and completed three survey rounds (with 183, 131, and 55 valid items)...

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and occupational blast exposure in military Service Members may lead to impaired brain waste clearance which increases neurological disease risk. Perivascular spaces (PVS) are a key part of the glymphatic system which supports brain waste clearance, preferentially during sleep. Visible PVS on clinical magnetic resonance imaging have been previously observed in patients with neurodegenerative diseases and animal neurotrauma models. The purpose of this study was to determine associations between PVS morphological characteristics, military career stage, and mTBI history in Special Operations Forces (SOF) Soldiers...

In the current geopolitical climate there is an unmet need to identify and develop prophylactic radiation countermeasures, particularly to ensure the well-being of warfighters and first responders that may be required to perform on radiation-contaminated fields for operational or rescue missions. Currently, no countermeasures have been approved by the U.S. FDA for prophylactic administration. Here we report on the efficacious nature of FSL-1 (toll-like receptor 2/6 agonist) and the protection from acute radiation syndrome (ARS) in a murine total-body irradiation (TBI) model...

The larvae of black soldier fly (BSFL) convert organic waste into insect proteins used as feedstuff for livestock and aquaculture. BSFL production performance is considerably reduced during winter season. Herein, the intraspecific diversity of ten commercial BSF colonies collected in China was evaluated. The Bioforte colony was subjected to selective breeding at 12 °C and 16 °C to develop cold-tolerant BSF with improved production performance. After breeding for nine generations, the weight of larvae, survival rate, and the dry matter conversion rate significantly increased...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical presentation and features in electrodiagnostic and imaging investigations of young South Korean males diagnosed with Hirayama disease (HD). METHODS: We reviewed the electronic medical records of South Korean enlisted soldiers who were diagnosed with HD and discharged from military service during 2011-2021. We investigated the clinical characteristics and results of electrodiagnostic and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) investigations...