Field Test for Repellency of Cedarwood Oil and Cedrol to Little Fire Ants

Eastern redcedars (Juniperus virginiana L.) are an abundant renew- able resource and represent a potential source of valuable natural products that may serve as natural biocides. The aromatic wood can be extracted to obtain cedarwood oil (CWO) and critical carbon dioxide (CO2) extraction of eastern redcedars gives both high yields and high quality CWO. In this study, CO2-derived CWO and cedrol, the most abundant component of CWO, were field-tested for repellency against the little fire ant (LFA), Wasmannia auropunctata Roger, in a Hawaiian macadamia orchard. Field tests were conducted using chopsticks baited with peanut-butter placed in established LFA trails on macadamia tree trunks and branches. The chopsticks and any ants present were collected after ca. 24 hours and the number of ants determined by visual counting. Four treatments were compared: Hexane only control; mineral oil; CWO; and cedrol. Control chopsticks and chopsticks treated with mineral oil had very high numbers of ants and were statistically equivalent. The CWO-treated chopsticks had significantly fewer LFAs than all the other treatments. Chopsticks treated with cedrol had fewer ants than the control chopsticks but more than the chopsticks treated with CWO. This research suggests that CWO extracts from J. virginianna may provide a renewable source of a natural ant repellent and could help manage this invasive pest

“Catch me if you can” – improving monitoring and control of vine weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus) in soft fruit and ornamental crops.

Vine weevil (Otiorhynchus sulcatus F.; Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is widely considered to be one of the most important soft-fruit and ornamental crop pests worldwide. Management options for vine weevil populations have historically relied on conventional synthetic insecticides. Much progress has been made in developing alternatives to conventional synthetic insecticides for vine weevil control. Research has focused on the use of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) so that standard practice is now to use EPNs, such as Steinernema kraussei or Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, to control vine weevil larvae. However, despite progress in developing sustainable control methods, less progress has been made in developing the other components required to form a holistic integrated pest management (IPM) programme for this pest. The series of experiments presented in this thesis seek, through the development of an improved monitoring tool as well as the application of a biopesticide as an alternative to the use of synthetic insecticides, to offer growers effective tools with which to monitor and control vine weevil. In particular, the influence of visual cues on vine weevil behaviour is investigated to develop an improved monitoring tool of this pest. Similarly, the chemical ecology of this species was studied to identify semiochemicals that can be used as a lure to improve monitoring tool efficacy. To achieve this, host and non-host plants as well as vine weevil produced volatiles were investigated. In addition, a bioinsecticide based on garlic extracts (Pitcher GR®) was evaluated under laboratory and glasshouse conditions in order to determine its potential as a vine weevil control. Finally, the efficacy of EPNs at controlling vine weevil larvae is assessed in six commercially available peat-free growing media. Results showed that visual (monitoring tool shade/colour, height and diameter as well as the effect of monitoring tool density) and olfactory (host plant and apple sauce) cues influence vine weevil monitoring tool efficacy. The garlic-based product was effective against vine weevil eggs and larvae under laboratory conditions, but its efficacy under glasshouse conditions requires further investigation to optimise its use against vine weevil. When the efficacy of EPNs was evaluated in six commercially available peat alternative growing media, EPNS were found to survive in all the growing media types. However, dispersal was affected by growing media, with Coir and John Innes Number 2 having a negative effect on EPNs. In addition, when S. kraussei was tested under glasshouse conditions, the EPN was effective at controlling vine weevil in all growing media tested. This study provides the basis to develop an enhanced monitoring tool that incorporates both visual and olfactory cues, while also promoting the effective use of biopesticides (e.g., garlic-based bioinsecticides) and biological controls (EPNs) for vine weevil control. However, further research is necessary to optimise vine weevil monitoring and management strategies

Wafers in Saddle Bags: A Novel Dispensing System for Male Lures Used to Detect Invasive Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Detection of the agricultural pests Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) relies heavily on traps baited with male-specific attractants. For B. dorsalis, traps are baited with liquid (6 ml) methyl eugenol (ME), while polymeric plugs containing trimedlure (TML; 2 g) are used in traps targeting C. capitata. In both cases, the attractant volatilizes rapidly, and lures are changed out every 6 weeks to insure high trap attractancy. Lures having greater longevity would be beneficial, because they would lengthen the trap servicing interval and thus reduce both supply and labor costs. Here, we tested the effectiveness of a saddle bag dispenser that (i) held two solid wafers impregnated with male lure, thus eliminating handling of liquid methyl eugenol (a potential carcinogen), (ii) was easy to place in traps, and (iii) allowed a high loading of male lure in trap (total loading of 6 g per trap for each lure). Field experiments, each lasting 12–14 weeks, were conducted on Hawaii island and Oahu, Hawaii, that compared captures of B. dorsalis and C. capitata males in traps baited in the standard manner versus traps baited with saddle bag dispensers. Traps baited with ME saddle bags weathered up to 12 or 14 weeks generally captured similar numbers of B. dorsalis males as traps baited with fresh ME liquid and significantly more males than traps baited with weathered ME liquid. Similar results were obtained for C. capitata: traps baited with TML saddle bags weathered up to 12 or 14 weeks captured similar numbers of C. capitata males as traps baited with fresh TML plugs and significantly more males than traps baited with weathered TML plugs

Endocannabinoids-related compounds in gastrointestinal diseases

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is an endogenous signalling pathway involved in the control of several gastrointestinal (GI) functions at both peripheral and central levels. In recent years, it has become apparent that the ECS is pivotal in the regulation of GI motility, secretion and sensitivity, but endocannabinoids (ECs) are also involved in the regulation of intestinal inflammation and mucosal barrier permeability, suggesting their role in the pathophysiology of both functional and organic GI disorders. Genetic studies in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammatory bowel disease have indeed shown significant associations with polymorphisms or mutation in genes encoding for cannabinoid receptor or enzyme responsible for their catabolism, respectively. Furthermore, ongoing clinical trials are testing EC agonists/antagonists in the achievement of symptomatic relief from a number of GI symptoms. Despite this evidence, there is a lack of supportive RCTs and relevant data in human beings, and hence, the possible therapeutic application of these compounds is raising ethical, political and economic concerns. More recently, the identification of several EC-like compounds able to modulate ECS function without the typical central side effects of cannabino-mimetics has paved the way for emerging peripherally acting drugs. This review summarizes the possible mechanisms linking the ECS to GI disorders and describes the most recent advances in the manipulation of the ECS in the treatment of GI diseases

Genotypic and computational sequence analysis of ALADIN gene causing Allgrove syndrome

Background: Allgrove syndrome is autosomal recessive disorder, the gene involved in this syndrome is known as ALADIN located close to type 2 keratin gene cluster on chromosome 12q13 whose function is to control the nucleocytoplasmic trafficking and also affects the nuclear pore complexes. Mutation in this gene cause triple A syndrome. The aim of research was to analyze the mutational changes in ALADIN gene, formation of 3D Structure of normal and mutated protein and differentiation of normal and mutated protein.Methods: Genotyping by using tetra arm PCR and Sequence analyses of coding region of ALADIN gene was done in two families having affected children with Allgrove’s syndrome.Results: Point mutation in exon 1 and alteration in 3D structure of protein was observed by using VMD (Visual molecular dynamics) that shows truncation, absence of few amino acid and structural modification of proteins which alters in transportation ability.Conclusion: It is concluded from the study that proper structure and function of NPC (nuclear pore complex) binding protein is necessary in normal body function and if any mutation is present in ALADIN gene it can cause symptoms of rare Allgrove’s syndrome.Keywords: ALADIN gene; 3D protein structure; Triple A syndrom

Bitrate Ladder Prediction Methods for Adaptive Video Streaming: A Review and Benchmark

HTTP adaptive streaming (HAS) has emerged as a widely adopted approach for over-the-top (OTT) video streaming services, due to its ability to deliver a seamless streaming experience. A key component of HAS is the bitrate ladder, which provides the encoding parameters (e.g., bitrate-resolution pairs) to encode the source video. The representations in the bitrate ladder allow the client's player to dynamically adjust the quality of the video stream based on network conditions by selecting the most appropriate representation from the bitrate ladder. The most straightforward and lowest complexity approach involves using a fixed bitrate ladder for all videos, consisting of pre-determined bitrate-resolution pairs known as one-size-fits-all. Conversely, the most reliable technique relies on intensively encoding all resolutions over a wide range of bitrates to build the convex hull, thereby optimizing the bitrate ladder for each specific video. Several techniques have been proposed to predict content-based ladders without performing a costly exhaustive search encoding. This paper provides a comprehensive review of various methods, including both conventional and learning-based approaches. Furthermore, we conduct a benchmark study focusing exclusively on various learning-based approaches for predicting content-optimized bitrate ladders across multiple codec settings. The considered methods are evaluated on our proposed large-scale dataset, which includes 300 UHD video shots encoded with software and hardware encoders using three state-of-the-art encoders, including AVC/H.264, HEVC/H.265, and VVC/H.266, at various bitrate points. Our analysis provides baseline methods and insights, which will be valuable for future research in the field of bitrate ladder prediction. The source code of the proposed benchmark and the dataset will be made publicly available upon acceptance of the paper

Weathering of Torula Yeast Borax Food Bait and Capture of Oriental, Mediterranean, and Melon Fruit Flies in Hawaii (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Detection of pestiferous tephritid fruit flies relies largely on traps baited with male-specific attractants, termed male lures. Although male lures are quite powerful, two factors limit their effectiveness: they do not target females, and males of many tephritid species are not attracted to these compounds. Consequently, food-baited traps are an important component of fruit fly monitoring programs, because, despite their relatively low attractancy, food baits are general attractants that are neither sex- nor species-specific. Enzymatic torula yeast in an aqueous solution is a standard food attractant used in tephritid trapping programs worldwide. Torula yeast bait is not particularly long-lasting, and replacement is recommended every 7–14 d. Few data exist regarding the attractiveness of this food bait over time, and the present study was undertaken to compare captures of wild Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), and Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett) in Multilure traps baited with torula yeast slurry weathered for 3, 6, 9, or 12 d. No significant variation in trap catch was detected among these weathering intervals for any of the three species. In a second experiment, trap captures were compared between food bait weathered 3 vs. 21 d, and in this case significantly more C. capitata and Z. cucurbitae were captured in the 3-d-old bait, whereas catch of B. dorsalis was similar for traps containing food bait weathered for 3 or 21 d. Results are compared with those of previous studies

Endocannabinoid signalling in the blood of patients with schizophrenia

AIM: To test the hypothesis that schizophrenia might be associated with alterations of the endogenous cannabinoid system in human blood. RESULTS: Blood from 20 healthy volunteers and 12 patients with schizophrenia, 5 of which both before and after a successful antipsychotic treatment, was analysed for: 1) the amounts of the endocannabinoid anandamide; 2) the levels of cannabinoid CB(1 )and CB(2 )receptor mRNAs, and 3) the levels of the mRNA encoding the enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), responsible for anandamide degradation. The amounts of anandamide were significantly higher in the blood of patients with acute schizophrenia than in healthy volunteers (7.79 ± 0.50 vs. 2.58 ± 0.28 pmol/ml). Clinical remission was accompanied by a significant decrease of the levels of anandamide (3.88 ± 0.72 pmol/ml) and of the mRNA transcripts for CB(2 )receptors and FAAH. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that endocannabinoid signalling might be altered during the acute phase of schizophrenia not only in the central nervous system but also in the blood. These changes might be related to the several immunological alterations described in schizophrenia

Bisphenol a deranges the endocannabinoid system of primary sertoli cells with an impact on inhibin b production

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disruptor that negatively affects spermatogenesis, a process where Sertoli cells play a central role. Thus, in the present study we sought to ascertain whether BPA could modulate the endocannabinoid (eCB) system in exposed mouse primary Sertoli cells. Under our experimental conditions, BPA turned out to be cytotoxic to Sertoli cells with an half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of ~6.0 µM. Exposure to a non-cytotoxic dose of BPA (i.e., 0.5 µM for 48 h) increased the expression levels of specific components of the eCB system, namely: type-1 cannabinoid (CB1) receptor and diacylglycerol lipase-α (DAGL-α), at mRNA level, type-2 cannabinoid (CB2) receptor, transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) receptors, and DAGL-β, at protein level. Interestingly, BPA also increased the production of inhibin B, but not that of transferrin, and blockade of either CB2 receptor or TRPV1 receptor further enhanced the BPA effect. Altogether, our study provides unprecedented evidence that BPA deranges the eCB system of Sertoli cells towards CB2-and TRPV1-dependent signal transduction, both receptors being engaged in modulating BPA effects on inhibin B production. These findings add CB2 and TRPV1 receptors, and hence the eCB signaling, to the other molecular targets of BPA already known in mammalian cells