Host selection and establishment of striped mealybug, Ferrisia virgata, on cotton cultivars

The striped mealybug, Ferrisia virgata (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), is a polyphagous and cosmopolitan species, which attacks a wide variety of crops, including cotton. Lately, it has been found infesting colored fiber cotton and emerging as an important pest in the Northeast of Brazil. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of colonization, establishment, plant distribution and dispersal of F. virgata on cotton cultivars. Preference experiments were set up in the laboratory and in the greenhouse, in which cultivars were offered simultaneously to nymphs or females and the number of insects on each cultivar was counted after 24 h, 48 h, 22 days and 60 days, respectively. Meanwhile, attack of different plant structures and dispersal were investigated under field conditions. Results showed that F. virgata is able to become established on colored cotton fiber cultivars (BRS Verde, BRS Rubi, and BRS Safira) as well as on white cotton cultivars (BRS 201 and CNPA 7H) without showing any preference among these cultivars. Females produce a large number of offspring to enhance nymph survival and host plant colonization, since the number of first instars successfully established after migration is low (<10%). In addition, its short range dispersal can easily occur from plant to plant. Therefore, strategies to manage F. virgata will be needed to facilitate colored cotton production, especially in organic farms infested by this mealybug species.     

Pinewood nematode population growth in relation to pine phloem chemical composition

The pinewood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, native to North America (NA), is now a major invasive pine pest in Eurasia. Pine species differ greatly in their susceptibility to B. xylophilus, and differences in susceptibility might be related to differences in phytochemistry. This study addressed two major questions: (i) which plant chemical profiles (including compounds that act as plant defences and those important for nutrition) favour pinewood nematode development; and (ii) are NA and Portuguese pinewood nematodes different in their capacity to subsist on plant tissues? For this, B. xylophilus isolates from NA and Portugal were tested on pine phloem and xylem of different pine species. It was found that unaltered pine phloem can sustain the population growth of B. xylophilus, but only in a few cases, and this was clearly related to distinct chemical profiles in some pine species. No evidence was found of evolutionary divergence between B. xylophilus populations in Portugal and NA. The pine species with phloem on which pinewood nematodes could grow tended to have low levels of total phenols, condensed tannins, flavonoids and lignin. Evidence was also found that nutrients such as N may be important.     

Chronic Toxicity Study of Neosaxitoxin in Rats

Neosaxitoxin (NeoSTX) is a specific reversible blocker of voltage gated sodium channels on excitable cells. In the last decade, it has been tested in a number of interesting clinical trials, however there is still little information available on mammalian toxicity. Rats were treated for 12 weeks with doses of 1, 3 or 6 μg/kg of subcutaneous NeoSTX. At weeks 12 and 17, animals were sacrificed and blood samples collected for hematological and biochemical analysis. Organs were harvested for weight determination and histopathological assessments. The lowest acute toxicity via the intraperitoneal (ip) route was (30.35 μg/kg) and there was no significant difference between intramuscular and subcutaneous routes (11.4 and 12.41 μg/kg). The NeoSTX adiministration did not produce lethality at week 12 and after five weeks of suspension. NeoSTX 6 μg/kg ip produced reductions (p < 0.05) in body weight and food intake, and increased blood level of total and direct bilirubin, GGT and SGOT at week 12; all of these were reversed in the recovery period. NeoSTX 1 and 3 μg/kg ip did not show significant changes with the control group. Histopathological presentations were normal in all groups. This study revealed that NeoSTX is safe in vivo, giving a reliable security margin for its use like a local anesthetic.     

Exploitation of Marine-Derived Robust Biological Molecules to Manage Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Naturally occurring biological entities with extractable and tunable structural and functional characteristics, along with therapeutic attributes, are of supreme interest for strengthening the twenty-first-century biomedical settings. Irrespective of ongoing technological and clinical advancement, traditional medicinal practices to address and manage inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are inefficient and the effect of the administered therapeutic cues is limited. The reasonable immune response or invasion should also be circumvented for successful clinical translation of engineered cues as highly efficient and robust bioactive entities. In this context, research is underway worldwide, and researchers have redirected or regained their interests in valorizing the naturally occurring biological entities/resources, for example, algal biome so-called “treasure of untouched or underexploited sources”. Algal biome from the marine environment is an immense source of excellence that has also been demonstrated as a source of bioactive compounds with unique chemical, structural, and functional features. Moreover, the molecular modeling and synthesis of new drugs based on marine-derived therapeutic and biological cues can show greater efficacy and specificity for the therapeutics. Herein, an effort has been made to cover the existing literature gap on the exploitation of naturally occurring biological entities/resources to address and efficiently manage IBD. Following a brief background study, a focus was given to design characteristics, performance evaluation of engineered cues, and point-of-care IBD therapeutics of diverse bioactive compounds from the algal biome. Noteworthy potentialities of marine-derived biologically active compounds have also been spotlighted to underlying the impact role of bio-active elements with the related pathways. The current review is also focused on the applied standpoint and clinical translation of marine-derived bioactive compounds. Furthermore, a detailed overview of clinical applications and future perspectives are also given in this review.     

Earthworm (Pontoscolex corethrurus) survival and impacts on properties of soils from a lead mining site in Southern Brazil

Biology and Fertility of Soils - The survival and cast production of the tropical endogeic earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus and the changes in chemical and physical characteristics induced by gut...     

Estimating Be-7 association with soil particle size fractions for erosion and deposition modelling

Purpose

Estimates of beryllium-7 (⁷Be) enrichment in soil particle size fractions are important for correction in existing soil redistribution models. Little attention has been given to documenting methods of estimating ⁷Be enrichment and assessing differences in enrichment between soil types in the context of soil redistribution modelling. Here, we detail a method for estimating ⁷Be enrichment and correcting soil redistribution estimates.

Materials and methods

Beryllium from a solution of BeCl₂ was adsorbed to two soils with contrasting texture using a batch procedure. Soil fractions were separated by settling according to Stokes’ Law, and samples of bulk and settled fractions were digested and analysed for Be concentration and for specific surface area.

Results and discussion

Both soils demonstrated increasing enrichment of Be with increasing specific surface area. There was a marked difference in enrichment between the soil types with the coarse soil showing greater enrichment in the finer fractions. Calculated enrichment ratios for the coarse soil more than doubled between subfractions of the <63 μm class. Failure to account for the selective transport of fractions during soil redistribution studies could incur substantial errors in soil erosion estimates.

Conclusions

Stable Be provides a practical means of estimating ⁷Be enrichment in soil and subsequent corrections can be incorporated into the conversion model where it is proposed that corrections should be applied to the inventory deficit at each eroding point. The marked difference in enrichment between soil types in these experiments suggested that characterising enrichment and associated correction factors should be done on a site-specific basis. Implementation of the particle size correction procedures requires additional field and laboratory data to standard application of the established soil erosion conversion model.     

Impact of fungicide application volume on ASIAN rust control and soybean crop yield

European Journal of Plant Pathology - Multisite fungicides are an anti-resistance strategy to control Phakopsora pachyrhizi. Among the protective fungicides, mancozeb is a fungicide that has been...