The story of a new insecticidal chemistry class: the diamides

This paper describes the story of the invention of the diamides, a novel chemical class of insecticides. It starts with the pioneering work by Nihon Nohyaku researchers, who developed a herbicide lead with weak insecticidal activity to flubendiamide, a highly potent lepidoptericide. The journey continues with Nissan's isoxazolines and the invention of the anthranilamides by DuPont, culminating in the discovery of the blockbuster chlorantraniliprole and its analogue cyantraniliprole. The next steps are Syngenta's sulfoximines and bicyclic anthranilamides, Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha's cyclopropylamides, Sumitomo's hydrazides, Bayer's pyrazoles and tetrazoles, BASF's sulfoximines and more recent contributions from Chinese agrochemical companies and academic institutions. The diamides affect calcium homeostasis by binding to ryanodine receptors and releasing calcium from the intracellular stores. Investigations at Nihon Nohyaku, DuPont and Bayer on the action of the diamides on ryanodine receptors will be briefly reported.     

Evaluation of marine brown algae and sponges from Brazil as anticoagulant and antiplatelet products

The ischemic disorders, in which platelet aggregation and blood coagulation are involved, represent a major cause of disability and death worldwide. The antithrombotic therapy has unsatisfactory performance and may produce side effects. So, there is a need to seek molecules with antithrombotic properties. Marine organisms produce substances with different well defined ecological functions. Moreover, some of these molecules also exhibit pharmacological properties such as antiviral, anticancer, antiophidic and anticoagulant properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate, through in vitro tests, the effect of two extracts of brown algae and ten marine sponges from Brazil on platelet aggregation and blood coagulation. Our results revealed that most of the extracts were capable of inhibiting platelet aggregation and clotting measured by plasma recalcification tests, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and fibrinogenolytic activity. On the other hand, five of ten species of sponges induced platelet aggregation. Thus, the marine organisms studied here may have molecules with antithrombotic properties, presenting biotechnological potential to antithrombotic therapy. Further chemical investigation should be conducted on the active species to discover useful molecules for the development of new drugs to treat clotting disorders.     

Effect of routine cardiovascular catheterization on cardiac troponin I concentration in dogs

ObjectiveTo determine changes in cardiac troponin I concentration (cTnI) associated with cardiovascular catheterization in dogs.Animals, materials and methodscTnI was measured after transarterial coil embolization of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), balloon valvuloplasty (BV), and pacemaker implantation (PACE). Dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy (OHE) were used as a control, with 15 animals in each group. Blood for the cTnI assay was collected at baseline (T0), at 5 h (T5), 24 h (T24) and 10 days (T240) post-procedure. The effects of age, duration and difficulty of the procedure were evaluated.ResultsThere was no difference in cTnI concentration at T0 for any of the groups. There was a significant increase in cTnI concentration for BV and PACE, but not PDA at T5 and T24. PACE at T24 and T240 also had higher cTnI than control. Dogs with longer procedure times had significantly higher concentration of cTnI. There was no correlation between the difficulty of the procedure or peri-procedure complications and cTnI.ConclusioncTnI increased during some cardiovascular catheterization procedures, but returned to normal values at 24–240 h. Patients undergoing long catheterization procedures have increased risk for myocardial injury, but this was not related to short-term prognosis.     

Herd-level risk factors for Neospora caninum seroprevalence in dairy farms in southern Brazil

A cross-sectional study was used to test the relationship between herd seroprevalence to Neospora caninum and various potential herd-level risk factors in 60 dairy farms located in two distinct regions in southern Brazil. Thirty farms were randomly selected from within each region. A questionnaire was designed to summarize each farm's production system as it might relate to N. caninum transmission. The questionnaire contained 105 closed questions relating to general characteristics of the farms, farm facilities, management, source of food and water, herd health, environment and biosecurity, which included questions relevant to N. caninum transmission, including presence and number of dogs and other animals, purchase of animals and contact with man. Serum samples were collected from 40% of animals in each farm and N. caninum antibodies were detected by immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT). The association between potential risk factors and the probability of an animal being seropositive was modeled using a generalized estimation equations (GEE) logistic regression model. The model accounted for multilevel correlation of data from multiple animals within herds. The mean (+/-S.D.) number of animals in the 60 herds was 64.5 (+/-45.6), ranging from 20 to 280 females. Blood samples were collected from 1549 animals. The size of the farms varied from 4 to 100 ha (mean 30.1+/-25.9 ha). At least one dog was found in 57 of the 60 dairy farms (95%). The mean number of dogs was 3.1 (+/-1.9), ranging from 0 to 10. All females were raised on pasture. For all cattle sampled, N. caninum seroprevalence was 17.8%. Overall, 93.3% of herds (56/60) had at least one seropositive animal identified. Four variables were significantly associated with N. caninum sero-response in the 57 dairy farms, which were included in the final multivariable model: the number of dogs on the farm, farm area (hectares), feeding pooled sources of colostrum and region. The odds of a cow being seropositive increased 1.13 times for each additional dog present on the farm (P=0.021). Cattle from farms that fed calves colostrum pooled from multiple cows had 1.79 times greater odds for being seropositive for N. caninum (P<0.003). The probability of being seropositive was inverse to the area of the farms, such that cattle had 0.92 times the odds to be seropositive (P=0.014) for each additional 10 ha of farmland. Finally, cattle from farms in region one had 0.71 times the odds to be seropositive than cattle from region two (P=0.035). Results of this study suggest that several risk factors may explain why dairy cattle in Brazil may become exposed to N. caninum. However, further investigation of these factors is necessary because the purpose of this study was to refine and generate hypotheses on N. caninum transmission.     

Constructed wetlands for the treatment of organic pollutants

Background  Constructed wetlands (wetland treatment systems) are wetlands designed to improve water quality. They use the same processes that occur in natural wetlands but have the flexibility of being constructed. As in natural wetlands vegetation, soil and hydrology are the major components. Different soil types and plant species are used in constructed wetlands. Regarding hydrology surface flow and subsurface flow constructed wetlands are the main types. Subsurface flow constructed wetlands are further subdivided into horizontal or vertical flow. Many constructed wetlands deal with domestic wastewater where BOD and COD (Biochemical and Chemical Oxygen Demand respectively) are used as a sum parameter for organic matter. However, also special organic compounds can be removed. Objective  The objectives are to summarise the state-of-the-art on constructed wetlands for treatment of specific organic compounds, to the present the lack of knowledge, and to derive future research needs. Methods  Case studies in combination with a literature review are used to summarise the available knowledge on removal processes for specific organic compounds. Results and Discussion  Case studies are presented for the treatment of wastewaters contaminated with aromatic organic compounds, and sulphonated anthraquinones, olive mill wastewater, landfill leachate, and groundwater contaminated with hydrocarbons, cyanides, chlorinated volatile organics, and explosives. In general the removal efficiency for organic contaminants is high in all presented studies. Conclusion  Constructed wetlands are an effective and low cost way to treat water polluted with organic compounds. There is a lack of knowledge on the detailed removal pathways for most of the contaminants. Removal rates as well as optimal plant species are substance-specific, and also typically not available. If a constructed wetland provides different environmental conditions and uses different plant species the treatment efficiency can be improved. Recommendations and Outlook  There is a great need to lighten the black box ‘constructed wetland’ to obtain performance data for both microbial activity and the contribution of the plants to the overall removal process. Also genetic modified plants should be considered to enhance the treatment performance of constructed wetlands for specific compounds.     

Development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for bisphenol a using chicken immunoglobulins

Bisphenol A was coupled, after derivatization into a suitable hapten, to bovine serum albumin and ovalbumin in order to produce immunizing and coating antigens. The immunizing antigens were injected into chickens, which allowed the isolation of specific bisphenol A immunoglobulins from the egg yolk. These antibodies were used in an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the determination of bisphenol A in aqueous solutions. Various parameters, influencing the assay sensitivity, were evaluated. The applicability of the assay for the determination of bisphenol A in milk was also studied. The assay was not as sensitive as other analytical techniques used in bisphenol A analysis, since typical I(50) levels of 2.5 microM were reached in aqueous solutions. This study nevertheless illustrates the usefulness and the potency of chicken antibodies in the analysis of migration residues from packaging materials using immunochemical techniques. In addition, the assay showed to be quite specific for bisphenol A as well. Only for bisphenol A analogues, cross reactivities of about 40% were reached, enabling the use of the antibodies for the screening of bisphenol A and alike compounds.