An investigation on permethrin-treated military uniforms against diurnal mosquitoes under field conditions

Background: Military forces are exposed to mosquito bites because of their duties. In addition to the nuisance caused by mosquito bites, they are the vector of some vector-borne diseases in many countries of the world. Impregnation of military uniforms with permethrin is one of the most effective methods of protecting military personnel. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of permethrin-impregnated uniforms against diurnal mosquitoes under field conditions. Methods: In this study, one of the most common uniforms used in the Iranian military was treated by permethrin (0.125 mg. permethrin ai/cm(2)) and evaluated against the natural population of day-biting mosquitoes, in the rural area with Eight participants, three of them put on the treated uniforms and the other one of them wore the untreated uniforms and Four officers were also appointed as collectors. Results: The average number of bites in those who wore untreated uniforms (control) was 1.8/min/person (107.8/hr), while it was 0.16 (9.83/hr) for treated uniforms. The protection of treated uniforms was about 91. The knockdown rate for Culex and Aedes mosquitoes was 95.92 and 94.44, respectively. The mortality rate in Culex was 98.59 and 98.61 in Aedes mosquitoes when exposed to treated uniforms. Conclusion: In this study, military uniforms impregnated with permethrin showed significant protection against the bites of Culex and Aedes mosquitoes. This intervention can be used to protect military personnel from the bites of Culex and Aedes these mosquitoes and to reduce the diseases transmitted by these mosquitoes

Larvicidal effects of endophytic and basidiomycete fungus extracts on Aedes and Anopheles larvae (Diptera, Culicidae)

Introduction In vitro bioassays were performed to access the larvicidal activity of crude extracts from the endophytic fungus Pestalotiopsis virgulata (Melanconiales, Amphisphaeriaceae) and the saprophytic fungus Pycnoporus sanguineus (Basidiomycetes, Polyporaceae) against the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Anopheles nuneztovari. Methods The extracts were tested at concentrations of 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500ppm. Ethyl acetate mycelia (EAM) extracts and liquid culture media (LCM) from Pe. virgulata and Py. sanguineus were tested against third instar larvae of Ae. aegypti and An. nuneztovari. Results The larvicidal activity of the EAM extracts from Pe. virgulata against Ae. aegypti had an LC50=101.8ppm, and the extract from the basidiomycete fungus Py. sanguineus had an LC50=156.8ppm against the Ae. aegypti larvae. The Pe. virgulata extract had an LC50=16.3ppm against the An. nuneztovari larvae, and the Py. sanguineus extract had an LC50=87.2ppm against these larvae. Conclusions These results highlight the larvicidal effect of EAM extracts from the endophyte Pe. virgulata against the two larval mosquitoes tested. Thus, Pe. virgulata and Py. sanguineus have the potential for the production of bioactive substances against larvae of these two tropical disease vectors, with An. nuneztovari being more susceptible to these extracts

Efficacy of Ruta graveolens extract and its synergistic effect with cypermethrin against Anopheles stephensi Liston larvae

Vector-borne diseases constitute 17 of the global burden of infectious diseases. Among them, malaria, with 247 million cases and one million deaths in 109 countries, stands first. Plant extracts can be used as an alternative to synthetic insecticides. This will minimize environmental hazards and vector resistance rate. In one such bioassay at Mysore, India, on Anopheles stephensi an urban malarial vector, extracts of Rue (Ruta graveolens) plant leaves, alone and with cypermethrin, produced promising larvicidal results. Petroleum ether extract with LC50 of 43.5 ppm and LC90 of 90.6 ppm was found to be the best. The co-toxicity coefficient and synergistic factor for the 1: 1 mixture were 119.4 and 9.94, respectively, for the LC50 at 24th hour. Mixtures of phytochemicals and insecticides were found to be more effective than insecticides or phytochemicals alone and could be a good ecofriendly approach to reduce the dose of chemicals to be applied in vector control programs. Besides, such mixtures could reduce the costs, prolong lifetime of available insecticides, and regulate insecticide resistance as part of integrated vector management. © 2010 Taylor & Francis

Biochemical and cytogenetic effects of imazethapyr on Cicer arietinum L

Weeds are a serious obstacle to the production of chickpea. Imazethapyr (IM) herbicide is used to control weeds in most of the pulses, including chickpea. Mitotic abnormalities, chromosomal behavior, and protein content in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), due to IM treatment, were studied. The chickpea seeds (variety JG-11) were germinated in sterilized Petri dishes, 9 cm in diameter, on Whatman filter paper moistened with 10 ml of either Hoagland nutrient solution (control) or five concentrations of IM (0.5, 1, 2.5, 5, and 10 ppm). From the cytologic point of view, observations demonstrated that the mitotic frequency in root meristematic cells diminished, and that abnormality frequency increased parallel to the increase in concentrations of IM. The herbicide was highly mito-inhibitory and induced chromosomal irregularities, such as stickiness, lagging, scattering, and chromosome bridges. The endosperm and root-shoot axis’ protein content decreased with increasing of the herbicide concentration in all the treatments. It can be argued that IM produces undesirable side effects during mitosis in chickpea’s somatic cells and biochemical parameters. © 2020 Hoseiny-Rad and Aivazi

Larvicidal activity of oak quercus infectoria oliv. (fagaceae) gall extracts against anopheles stephensi liston

There is a growing interest in the use of botanical insecticides to reduce the use of synthetic pesticides in order to avoid environmental side effects. Anopheles stephensi is the primary vector of urban malaria, an endemic disease in India. So, an effort to assay An. stephensi larvae with gall extracts of Quercus infectoria was made under laboratory conditions at Mysore. Ethyl-acetate extract was found to be the most effective of all the five extracts tested for larvicidal activity against the fourth instar larvae, with LC50 of 116.92 ppm followed by gallotannin, n-butanol, acetone, and methanol with LC50 values of 124.62, 174.76, 299.26, and 364.61 ppm, respectively. The efficacy in killing mosquito larvae may make this plant promising for the development of new botanical larvicide

Human myiasis survey in Ilam Province, Southwest of Iran

Myiasis is the infestation of live human and vertebrate animals with dipterous larvae, which at least for a period. Ilam Province of Iran is one of the most important animal husbandry areas, especially nomadic, in Iran. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence of myiasis in shepherds in Ilam Province. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the shepherds in Ilam Province, western Iran. Out of the 11 counties in Ilam Province, 6 were randomly chosen from three different climates for this study. A questionnaire was used by a trained interviewer to obtain the information from subjects. The disease has been seen in spring, summer, and autumn seasons. About 94.1 of people have been infested at least once. Pharyngeal myiasis had the highest prevalence with 58.3. Itchy, painful throat, sneeze, cough, and headache were common symptoms. About 85.1 of people described the symptoms of the disease as severe and very severe. About 75.4 stated that the duration of the disease was more than 5 days. According to the results of the study, it was found that the prevalence of myiasis among shepherds in the Ilam Province is high and it is necessary to take appropriate measures to control the disease and increase health literacy

Cytogenetic and biochemical effects of imazethapyr in wheat (Triticum durum)

Mitotic abnormalities, chromosomal behavior, and protein content in wheat (Triticum durum) due to imazethapyr (IM) treatment were determined. Wheat seeds (variety HI-8663) were exposed to 5 IM concentrations (0.5, 0.89, 1.58, 2.81, and 5 ppm) according to the between paper method, in laboratory conditions. The protein content in the root-shoot axis and endosperm decreased significantly with the dosage increase. Cytological observations showed that the mitotic frequency in the root meristematic cells decreased parallel to the increase in concentrations. The most common types of the observed anomalies were sticky chromosomes, lagging chromosomes, scattered chromosomes, chromatin bridges, and micronuclei. The results revealed that the herbicide IM could affect biochemical parameters, mitotic frequency, and chromosomal behavior in wheat seeds

Metabolic changes during early growth of chickpea affected by Imazethapyr (Pursuit™)

A study was conducted to investigate the effect of herbicide Imazethapyr on germination and metabolic changes during early growth of chickpea. Five concentrations (0.5,1,2.5,5, and 10 ppm) of IM was employed along with control in hydroponie condition. Shoot-root axis and cotyledon of 4, 8,12 and 15 day old germinated seedlings were used to assess the toxic effects of IM on morphological and biochemical parameters. Though a significant decrease in the length of radicle and plumule was observed with increase in concentration of the herbicide, the percentage of seed germination was not affected. In the cotyledon of treated seedlings, total protein, total carbohydrate, and starch content were increased in line with higher doses, but reducing sugar content was in a converse pattern. In the embryonic axis, a decrease in total protein and reducing sugar was observed in response to dose increase, but total carbohydrate and starch increased way at the same condition. It could be concluded that mobilization of seed reserve was suppressed by IM as a result impaired germination and early growth was noticed. Consequently, higher concentration of IM resulted in decline in early growth of non-target or main crop, i.e. chickpea. Copyright © EM International

Efficacy of educational intervention on preventive behavior against head lice infestation in girl school students

Aims: Despite progress in health and medical education, a head lice infestation is a common public health problem, the most prevalent problem in elementary school children. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the educational intervention on adopting preventive behavior against head lice infestation among girl elementary school students. Materials & Methods: This study was semi-experimental research on elementary school girls in Eyvan, Ilam, Iran, in 2018. Data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire and checklist behavior. Two girls' elementary schools were randomly selected from public elementary schools and randomly allocated to the intervention (N=95) and control (N=62) groups. The educational intervention was designed and implemented based on the health belief model in five 30-minutes sessions for the intervention group. One month after the intervention, the students in both groups were evaluated. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22 software via T-test, Chi-square, correlation, and regression. Findings: The results revealed significant differences in scores of knowledge, HBM constructs, and preventive behaviors in the intervention group after the intervention compared to before the intervention (p<0.05). Self-efficacy was a significant predictor for preventive behaviors of head lice (B= 0.547; p<0.001). Conclusions: The HBM-based health education improves students' HBM variables and preventive behaviors. © 2021, the Authors