Plant essential oils and their effectiveness against Musca domestica LINNAEUS, 1758 and its parasitoids

Pests and vector insects cause a great deal of economic and health disruption. Insect resistance and bioaccumulation are major disadvantages of the chemical control methods used against this pest. We investigated the larvicide and inhibition effect of Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck and Mentha pulegium Linnaeus essential oils against larvae and pupae of the housefly, Musca domestica Linnaeus, 1758. Their effects on a major parasitoid of houseflies; Muscidifurax raptor Girault & Sanders, 1910 were also investigated. Both essential oils were found to have significant insecticidal activity against larvae and pupae of houseflies. The LC50 of C. sinensis and M. pulegium essential oils were for larvae 3.93 and 0.71 ml/cm2, and for pupa 0.41 and 0.23 ml/cm2, respectively. Surprisingly, the parasitoids were less affected by plant-applied essential oils as compared to houseflies. After 24 and 48 hours of exposure, the LC50 for C. sinensis and M. pulegium essential oils was found to be 71.2 and 52.6 ml/cm2 and 45.2 and 37.6 ml/cm2, respectively. Overall, this experiment indicated that low concentrations of essential oils were found to have a significant effect on houseflies, but not parasitoids. Thus, it can be used in combination in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs to provide effective results

The Resonance of Postcolonialism in Hedayat’s Stray Dog

Sadegh Hedayat’s The Stray Dog oscillates between two geographical locales, native homeland and the land of his master where he spent a part of his life there, Europe. This story can be read as the manifestation of the Iranian identity dilemma which is defined as a confused situation in which a sense of “sardargomi va sargashtegi” “confusion and wandering” began to materialize in the main character. This article, through analyzing the story as an allegorical story, will seek to explain the distinctive problem and condition of displacement encountered by an Iranian writer which arise feelings of isolation, estrangement, internal and external psychological trauma which at large prevents identities to be formed at either end and leads into final self destruction and death in Nolandia. Key words: Self; Other; Unhomely; Sargashtegi; Sargardan

Antifungal activities of quince seed mucilage hydrogel decorated with essential oils of Nigella sativa, Citrus sinensis and Cinnamon verum

Background and Objectives: Candidiasis and pityriasis versicolor are opportunistic fungal infections that are caused by Candida spp. and Malassezia spp. yeasts. Conventional drugs like azole and amino derivatives are known to treat fungal skin diseases. However, drawbacks like long-term side effects and drug resistance lead to investigate on antifungal properties of phytochemicals as an alternative to available synthetic drugs. Materials and Methods: The herbal nano hydrogel was successfully synthesized from Quince Seed extract followed by ultrasonic treatment and it has been formulated using a mixture of essential oils. We evaluated the antifungal in vitro assay for a mixture of essential oils in combination with herbal nano hydrogel against Candida albicans and Malasezia furfur strains by micro dilution method. Results: The results indicated that essential oils possess antifungal activity with the MIC value of 12.5 and 6.24 mg/ml against C. albicans and M. furfur, respectively. No fungicidal effect was reported for the herbal hydrogel before nanofabrication while it shown some antifungal activity after ultrasonic treatment for 5 and 10 minutes. As anticipated; the antifungal property of essential oil mixture was appreciably improved when it combined with herbal nano hydrogel where the highest level of inhibition was observed at concentration of 3.125 mg/ml for both strains. The loss in biological activity observed when the ultrasonic treatment on herbal nano hydrogel performed for longer time. Conclusion: The proposed plant-based nano formulation shown promising in vitro antifungal activities against C. albicans and M. furfur strains and its antifungal properties were comparable with commercially available agents like clotrimazole. The new formulation expected to be safe with minimum long-term side effects. Further investigations are underway to confirm the safety and the mechanism of the action of this new herbal formulation

Chemo-Diversity and Antiradical Potential of Twelve Matricaria chamomilla L. Populations from Iran: Proof of Ecological Effects

Matricaria chamomilla L. is a popular medicinal herb that is used for healing various diseases and is widely distributed worldwide in temperate climate zones, and even in the subtropical climate of Southern and Western Iran. This study was aimed at comparing the volatile oil constituents, along with antiradical potential and HPLC analysis of methanolic extracts from twelve plant samples growing in Iran. The present research was carried out for the first time on these populations. Among seventeen identified volatile chemicals evaluated by GC/MS and GC/FID, representing 92.73–97.71% of the total oils, α-bisabolone oxide A (45.64–65.41%) was the major constituent, except in case of “Sarableh” as a new chemotype, where (E)- and (Z)-γ-bisabolene (42.76 and 40.08%, respectively) were the predominant components. Oxygenated sesquiterpenes (53.31–74.52%) were the most abundant compounds in the samples excluding “Sarableh” with 91.3% sesquiterpene hydrocarbons. “Sarableh” also exerted the most potent antioxidant capacity with EC50 = 7.76 ± 0.3 µg/mL and 6.51 ± 0.63 mmol TE (Trolox® equivalents)/g. In addition, populations “Lali” and “Bagh Malek” contained the highest amounts of apigenin and luteolin with 1.19 ± 0.01 mg/g and 2.20 ± 0.0 mg/g of plant material, respectively. Our findings depict a clear correlation between phytochemical profiles and antiradical potential of M. chamomilla and geographical factors

Bearers of culture: images of veiling in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis

Much ink has been spilled on the history of veiling, reveiling, and unveiling in various parts of the Muslim world, particularly in Iran. However, little mention is given in most scholarly works as to how it affects women and its ramifications in society. By examining the history of veiling in Iran and the study of veiling as represented in Marjane Satrapi’s memoir, Persepolis, this paper sheds light on the ramifications of forced unveiling and veiling, and it also enlightens the readers to how the Iranian women became the yardstick with which the country’s progress is measured. We argue that the two Acts of Unveiling and Veiling have been a mechanism in the service of patriarchy, which created division, conflict and segregation amongst women. We also argue that unlike the public perception that veiling is a phenomenon for Islamic hegemony and a heritage of Arab conquest, Persian women have used veiling centuries before the emergence of Islam, and in modern Iran, voluntary veiling can be used as a cultural sign of anti-imperialism

Ultrasound-promoted one-pot four-component synthesis of novel biologically active 3-aryl-2,4-dithioxo-1,3,5-triazepane-6,7-dione and their toxicity investigation

<p>We have described a novel four-component reaction (4MCR) between oxalyl chloride <b>1,</b> anilines <b>2a–h,</b> and two molecules of ammonium thiocyanate <b>3</b> in acetone under ultrasound irradiation to give 3-aryl-2,4-dithioxo-1,3,5-triazepane-6,7-diones. A synthetically useful ultrasound effect was observed and title products were obtained in high yields after 15–35 min sonication. Our procedure compared to the conventional heating method has the benefit of higher reaction yields and shorter reaction times. The IR spectra showed the presence of N–H, C═O and C═S groups in these compounds and ¹H, ¹³C NMR and Mass spectral results verified their structures. Cellular investigations showed that these compounds are toxic toward cancer cells.</p

Synthesis of novel thiazolidine-4-one derivatives and their anticancer activity

<p></p> <p>This paper describes the synthesis of a novel series of 1,3-thiazolidine-4-ones <b>6a-n</b> by cycloaddition reaction of <i>N</i>-aryl-<i>N</i>'-acyl thioureas <b>4a-k</b> with acetylenic esters <b>5a-b</b> under microwave irradiation and solvent free conditions. Our method, compared to conventional heating conditions has the benefit of higher reaction yield and shorter reaction times. Structural confirmation and characterization of products based on the analytical, chemical, and spectral analysis was confirmed. Cellular investigations showed that the target synthesized thiazolidine-4-ones are toxic and could be used as anticancer agents for MKN-45 gastric adenocarcinoma cells.</p