The control of the drugstore beetle, Stegobium paniceum (Coleoptera: Anobiidae) with high and low temperatures

Botanicals; dried plants, roots, stems, leaves, seeds and flowers, have been used from the dawn of history as drugs or spices (Craker, 2007). Botanicals have been used in the health care system to improve blood circulation, reduce chronic fever and cure chronic constipation (Golob et al., 1999; Samy et al., 2008). The drugstore beetle, Stegobium paniceum (L.) (Coleoptera: Anobiidae), is a pest of stored medicinal and aromatic plants and one of the most common insects found in botanical warehouses (Abdelghany et al., 2010). Generally, mortality of each stage increased with an increase of temperature and exposure time. Heat tolerance for different stages from highest to lowest was; young larvae, old larvae, eggs, adult and pupae. The mortality after 7 h, at 42ºC for young larvae, old larvae, eggs, adult and pupae respectively was; 16 ± 5, 31 ± 6, 48 ± 3, 63 ± 8 and 86 ± 2% (mean + SEM). Similarly, the lethal time for 90% mortality (LT>sub>90) at 42ºC was; too low to estimate, 773, 144, 12 and 11 h. The LT90 value for young larvae at 42, 45, 50, 55 and 60ºC was 25, 20, 3.9, 0.18 and 0.08 h respectively. The cold tolerance of different stages at 0ºC from highest to lowest was adult, old larva, young larva, pupa, and egg. The LT90 at 0ºC was 298, 153, 151, 89 and 53 h, respectively. The LT90 value for adults at 5, -5, -10 and -15ºC was 792, 58, 2 and 0.8 h, respectively. The supercooling point of adults, young larvae, old larvae and pupae was -15.2 ± 2ºC, -9.0 ± 0.8ºC, -6.5 ± 0.5ºC, and -4.0 ± 1.4ºC respectively. Heat treatments that control young larvae should control all other stages of S. paniceum. Cold treatments that control adults should control all other stages of S. paniceum. Dried plants stored at 5ºC for 45 days or 42ºC for 30 h and then kept below 18ºC throughout the rest of the year, should remain pest-free without any chemical control. The full paper was submitted to Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. Keywords: Anobiidae, Heat, Cold, Supercooling point, Tolerance, Storage, Warehous

Effect of pretreatment on the proximate composition, physicochemical characteristics and stability of <em>Moringa peregrina</em> oil

The present research work was intended to study the influence of roasting and germination of the kernel seeds of Sudanese Moringa peregrina on the physicochemical characteristics and the oxidative stability of the extracted oil. Roasting was carried out at 180 ˚C for 25 minutes, whereas germination was done at ambient conditions in a wet jute bag for 5–7 days. The oil was extracted using n-hexane in a Soxhlet extraction apparatus. The results show that the oil contains α-tocopherols (152mg/kg) and oleic acid (above 70%) as the major tocols and fatty acids, respectively. Germination reduced the peroxide value and increased the acid value in a significant way (p < 0.05) whereas the opposite trend was noticed in the case of roasting. It is crucial to note that, with the exception of the acid value of the germinated sample, peroxide and acid values remained below one meq O2/Kg of oil and one mg KOH/g of oil, respectively. The oxidative stability of the oil from the roasted sample was increased almost by 80% compared to the raw one. Roasting of the kernels prior to oil extraction is imperative for improving its oxidation resistance and the physicochemical characteristics

Curcumin ameliorates experimental autoimmune acute myocarditis in rats as evidenced by decrease in thioredoxin immunoreactivity

This study was performed to investigate the effect of curcumin on cardiac myosin-induced autoimmune myocarditis in rats and the change in thioredoxin (TRX) immunoreactivity in cardiomyocytes following curcumin treatment. Twenty-four six-week-old male Wistar rats were randomly allocated into 4 groups of 6 rats each. Group I received neither curcumin nor myosin. Group II received an oral solution of 1 g/kg/day of curcumin daily, from day 1 to day 21. To induce myocarditis, animals of both group III and group IV were injected by 1 mg of porcine cardiac myosin on days 1 and 8. In addition, animals of group IV received an oral solution of 1 g/kg/day of curcumin daily, from day 1 to day 21. Serum levels of creatine phosphokinase, troponin-T, tumour necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6 were estimated. Hearts were processed for histopathological and immunohistochemical studies. Serum biomarkers levels were significantly increased in myocarditis group as compared to other groups. The intake of curcumin significantly reduced the deviation in these markers. Sections of the wall of the heart from myocarditis group were characterised by inflammatory cell infiltration. Most of cardiomyocytes showed pyknotic nuclei and increased sarcoplasmic eosinophilia with strong immunoreactivity for TRX. Sections from myocarditis-curcumin group showed normal architecture with moderate immunoreactivity for TRX. The present study demonstrated that curcumin ameliorates acute myocarditis in rats and encouraged the estimation of serum level of TRX as a relevant indicator for the evaluation of the progress of acute myocarditis

Reducing Onion Bulbs Flaking and Increasing Bulb Yield and Quality by Potassium and Calcium Application

Abstract: To investigate the onion bulb flaking during storage in order to increase exportation, a two field experiments were conducted during winte

Caracterización estructural y actividad biológica de sulfolípidos de algas marinas seleccionadas

The sulfolipid classes (SLs) in the total lipids of five species of marine algae, two species of Rhodophyta (Laurencia popillose, Galaxoura cylindriea), one species of Chlorophyta (Ulva fasciata), and two species of Phaeophyta (Dilophys fasciola, Taonia atomaria) were separated and purified on DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. The SLs component was identified by IR, gas chromatography MS/MS and liquid chromatography MS/MS. The level of SLs contents va ried from 1.25% (in L. papillose) to 11.82% (in D. fasciola) of the total lipid contents. However, no significant differences in sulfate content (0.13 – 0.21%) were observed among all these algae species. All SLs were characterized by high contents of palmitic acid (C 16:0), which ranged from 30.91% in G. cylindriea to 63.11% in T. atomatia. The main constitutes of algal sulfolipids were identified as sulfoquinovosyl-di-acylglycerol and sulfoquinovosyl acylglycerol. The sulfolipids of different algal species exhibited remarkable antiviral activity against herps simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) with an IC50 ranging from 18.75 to 70. 2 μg mL–1. Moreover, algal sulfolipid inhibited the growth of the tumor cells of breast and liver human cancer cells with IC50 values ranging from 0.40 to 0.67 μg mL–1 for human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF7).Se separaron diferentes clases sulfolípidos (SL) a partir de los lípidos totales de cinco especies de algas marinas: una especie de Chlorophyta (Ulva fasciata), dos especies de Phaeophyta (Dilophys fasciola, Taonia atomaria) y dos especies de Rhodophyta (Laurencia popillose, Galaxoura cylindriea) que se purificaron mediante cromatografía en columna de DEAE-celulosa. Los components de SLs fueron identificados por IR, cromatografía de gases MS/MS y cromatografía líquida MS/ MS. Los contenidos de SL en relación al total de lípidos varió de 1,25% (en L. papilosa) al 11,82% (en D. fasciola). Sin embargo, no hay diferencias significativas en el contenido de sulfato observado entre todas estas especies de algas (desde 0,13 hasta 0,21%). Todos los SL se caracterizaron por un alto contenido de ácido palmítico (C16:0), que osciló entre 30,91% en G. cylindriea a 63,11% en T. atomatia. Sulfoquinovosyl-di-acilglicerol y acilglicerol sulfoquinovosyl fueron identificados como los principales constituyentes de los sulfolípidos de estas algas. Los sulfolípidos de las diferentes especies de algas estudiadas mostraron una notable actividad antiviral contra el virus del herpes simple tipo 1 (VHS-1) con una IC50 que osciló entre 18,75 y 70. 2 g mL–1. Por otra parte, los sulfolípidos de estas algas inhibieron el crecimiento de células tumorales de mama y células de cáncer de hígado humano con valores de IC50 que van desde 0,40 hasta 0,67 g mL–1 para las células de adenocarcinoma de mama humano (MCF7)

Seaweed polysaccharide-based hydrogels used for the regeneration of articular cartilage

This manuscript provides an overview of the in vitro and in vivo studies reported in the literature focusing on seaweed polysaccharides based hydrogels that have been proposed for applications in regenerative medicine, particularly, in the field of cartilage tissue engineering. For a better understanding of the main requisites for these specific applications, the main aspects of the native cartilage structure, as well as recognized diseases that affect this tissue are briefly described. Current available treatments are also presented to emphasize the need for alternative techniques. The following part of this review is centered on the description of the general characteristics of algae polysaccharides, as well as relevant properties required for designing hydrogels for cartilage tissue engineering purposes. An in-depth overview of the most well known seaweed polysaccharide, namely agarose, alginate, carrageenan and ulvan biopolymeric gels, that have been proposed for engineering cartilage is also provided. Finally, this review describes and summarizes the translational aspect for the clinical application of alternative systems emphasizing the importance of cryopreservation and the commercial products currently available for cartilage treatment.Authors report no declarations of interest. Authors thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for the PhD fellowship of Elena G. Popa (SFRH/BD/64070/2009) and research project (MIT/ECE/0047/2009). The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no REGPOT-CT2012-316331-POLARIS

Global economic burden of unmet surgical need for appendicitis

Background: There is a substantial gap in provision of adequate surgical care in many low-and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the economic burden of unmet surgical need for the common condition of appendicitis. Methods: Data on the incidence of appendicitis from 170 countries and two different approaches were used to estimate numbers of patients who do not receive surgery: as a fixed proportion of the total unmet surgical need per country (approach 1); and based on country income status (approach 2). Indirect costs with current levels of access and local quality, and those if quality were at the standards of high-income countries, were estimated. A human capital approach was applied, focusing on the economic burden resulting from premature death and absenteeism. Results: Excess mortality was 4185 per 100 000 cases of appendicitis using approach 1 and 3448 per 100 000 using approach 2. The economic burden of continuing current levels of access and local quality was US $92 492 million using approach 1 and$73 141 million using approach 2. The economic burden of not providing surgical care to the standards of high-income countries was $95 004 million using approach 1 and$75 666 million using approach 2. The largest share of these costs resulted from premature death (97.7 per cent) and lack of access (97.0 per cent) in contrast to lack of quality. Conclusion: For a comparatively non-complex emergency condition such as appendicitis, increasing access to care should be prioritized. Although improving quality of care should not be neglected, increasing provision of care at current standards could reduce societal costs substantially

Mortality of emergency abdominal surgery in high-, middle- and low-income countries

Background: Surgical mortality data are collected routinely in high-income countries, yet virtually no low- or middle-income countries have outcome surveillance in place. The aim was prospectively to collect worldwide mortality data following emergency abdominal surgery, comparing findings across countries with a low, middle or high Human Development Index (HDI). Methods: This was a prospective, multicentre, cohort study. Self-selected hospitals performing emergency surgery submitted prespecified data for consecutive patients from at least one 2-week interval during July to December 2014. Postoperative mortality was analysed by hierarchical multivariable logistic regression. Results: Data were obtained for 10 745 patients from 357 centres in 58 countries; 6538 were from high-, 2889 from middle- and 1318 from low-HDI settings. The overall mortality rate was 1⋅6 per cent at 24 h (high 1⋅1 per cent, middle 1⋅9 per cent, low 3⋅4 per cent; P < 0⋅001), increasing to 5⋅4 per cent by 30 days (high 4⋅5 per cent, middle 6⋅0 per cent, low 8⋅6 per cent; P < 0⋅001). Of the 578 patients who died, 404 (69⋅9 per cent) did so between 24 h and 30 days following surgery (high 74⋅2 per cent, middle 68⋅8 per cent, low 60⋅5 per cent). After adjustment, 30-day mortality remained higher in middle-income (odds ratio (OR) 2⋅78, 95 per cent c.i. 1⋅84 to 4⋅20) and low-income (OR 2⋅97, 1⋅84 to 4⋅81) countries. Surgical safety checklist use was less frequent in low- and middle-income countries, but when used was associated with reduced mortality at 30 days. Conclusion: Mortality is three times higher in low- compared with high-HDI countries even when adjusted for prognostic factors. Patient safety factors may have an important role. Registration number: NCT02179112 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)