Susceptibilities of two populations of Aphis gossiper Glover to selected insecticides

Two populations of Aphis gossypii were collected from cotton and melon crops treated with insecticides to control this aphid species. The  susceptibility of both aphid populations to pymetrozine, Pirimicarb, Oxydemeton-methyl and Imidacloprid was evaluated using leaf deep bioassays in Laboratory which were commonly used to control this aphid on both crops. Results showed that LC50 values of these insecticides against clones of cotton aphid were 452, 1427, 1810 and 209 ppm, respectively. LC50 values of the above mentioned pesticides against clones of melon aphid were 625, 688, 523 and 125 ppm, respectively. Lc50 data showed that aphids reared on melon was 2.07, 1.6 and 3.4 times more susceptible than cotton aphids to Pirimicarb, Imidaclopride and Oxydemeton-methyl and 1.4 times more resistant to Pymetrozine, respectively. In conclusion, it has been shown that clones of cotton aphid is on average 3.4-fold less susceptible to Oxydemeton- methyl, 2-fold less susceptible to pirimicarb, 1.6-fold less susceptible to Imidacloprid and nearly 0.7-fold more   susceptible to pymetrozine than clones of melon aphid. There was little difference in susceptibility to pymetrozine between the two populations. It is also suggested that continuous resistance monitoring should be conducted on a regional scale to identify the efficiency of compounds which are applied against this insect species.Key words: Aphis gossypii, cotton, melon, insecticide resistance

Prevalence and Genotyping of Hepatitis D Virus among HBs Ag Positive Patients Referred to Besat Clinic, Kerman during 2012-2013

Introduction: Hepatitis D virus (HDV) is a 35 nm in diameter agent that depends on hepatitis B surface antigen in order to proliferate and accumulate. Infection with delta agent can occur spontaneously with hepatitis B virus infection and it cause acute hepatitis or develop as secondary infection in the patients with hepatitis B. Hepatitis D virus (HDV) has several genotypes based on genome sequence analysis, which shows a variety of clinical protests and geographical scope. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hepatitis delta virus genotype in patients with positive HBs Ag. Methods: This cross-sectional and descriptive study was performed on 400 HbsAg-positive patients. Genotype identification was performed using polymerase chain reaction and RT-nested PCR and RFLP (Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism). Finally sample sequencing was considered to approve RFLP gained results. Results: Among 400 patients in this study, 67 participants (16.75 %) were containing anti-HDV antibody, and it was found HDV RNA in just 7 (1.75%) serum samples. By examining the sequences using analysis of these 7 positive HDV RNA samples by restriction enzyme and MEGA4 software showed that all of them have genotype I. Conclusion: Sequence analysis of C-terminal region of Hepatitis D virus (HDV) and its comparison with other countries showed that it was the same genotype that present in countries such as Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan. These finding indicated that there was the same origin of Hepatitis D virus (HDV) in Middle East

The Amylases of Insects

Alpha-amylases are major digestive enzymes that act in the first step of maltopolysaccharide digestion. In insects, these enzymes have long been studied for applied as well as purely scientific purposes. In many species, amylases are produced by multiple gene copies. Rare species are devoid of Amy gene. They are predominantly secreted in the midgut but salivary expression is also frequent, with extraoral activity. Enzymological parameters are quite variable among insects, with visible trends according to phylogeny: Coleopteran amylases have acidic optimum activity, whereas dipteran amylases have neutral preference and lepidopteran ones have clear alkaline preference. The enzyme structure shows interesting variations shaped by evolutionary convergences, such as the recurrent loss of a loop involved in substrate handling. Many works have focused on the action of plant amylase inhibitors on pest insect amylases, in the frame of crop protection by transgenesis. It appears that sensitivity or resistance to inhibitors is finely tuned and very specific and that amylases and their inhibitors have coevolved. The multicopy feature of insect amylases appears to allow tissue-specific or stage-specific regulation, but also to broaden enzymological abilities, such as pH range, and to overcome plant inhibitory defenses

Sleep education during pregnancy for new mothers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is a high association between disturbed (poor quality) sleep and depression, which has lead to a consensus that there is a bidirectional relationship between sleep and mood. One time in a woman’s life when sleep is commonly disturbed is during pregnancy and following childbirth. It has been suggested that sleep disturbance is another factor that may contribute to the propensity for women to become depressed in the postpartum period compared to other periods in their life. Post Natal Depression (PND) is common (15.5%) and associated with sleep disturbance, however, no studies have attempted to provide a sleep-focused intervention to pregnant women and assess whether this can improve sleep, and consequently maternal mood post-partum. The primary aim of this research is to determine the efficacy of a brief psychoeducational sleep intervention compared with a control group to improve sleep management, with a view to reduce depressive symptoms in first time mothers.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>This randomised controlled trial will recruit 214 first time mothers during the last trimester of their pregnancy. Participants will be randomised to receive either a set of booklets (control group) or a 3hour psychoeducational intervention that focuses on sleep. The primary outcomes of this study are sleep-related, that is sleep quality and sleepiness for ten months following the birth of the baby. The secondary outcome is depressive symptoms. It is hypothesised that participants in the intervention group will have better sleep quality and sleepiness in the postpartum period than women in the control condition. Further, we predict that women who receive the sleep intervention will have lower depression scores postpartum compared with the control group.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This study aims to provide an intervention that will improve maternal sleep in the postpartum period. If sleep can be effectively improved through a brief psychoeducational program, then it may have a protective role in reducing maternal postpartum depressive symptoms.</p> <p>Registration details</p> <p>This trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Register under the registration number ACTRN12611000859987</p