Fumigant Toxicity and Oviposition Deterrency of the Essential Oil from Cardamom, Elettaria cardamomum, Against Three Stored—product Insects

Use of insecticides can have disruptive effects on the environment. Replacing the chemical compounds in these insecticides with plant materials, however, can be a safe method with low environmental risk. In the current study, chemical composition and insecticidal activities of the essential oil from cardamom, Elettaria cardamomum L. (Maton) (Zingiberales: Zingiberaceae) on the adults of three stored product pests was investigated. Results indicated that essential oil of E. cardamomum toxic to the bruchid beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus Fabricius (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum Herbst (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), and the flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Adults of E. kuehniella were more sensitive than the Coleoptera. Also, the highest mortality of these insects was seen after 12 hours. Results of the LT50 tests showed that the lethal time of mortality occurred between 10–20 hours in various test concentrations. Essential oil of E. cardamomum had a good efficacy on oviposition deterrence of C. maculatus females, too. The chemical constituents of the essential oils were analyzed by gas chromatography—mass spectrometry. The major constituents of cardamom were identified as 1,8-cineol, α-terpinyl acetate, terpinene and fenchyl alcohol. These results suggest that essential oil of E. cardamomum is a good choice for control of stored product pests

Toxicidad Fumigante de Algunos Aceites Esenciales sobre Adultos de algunas Plagas de Productos Almacenados.

Plant materials with insecticidal properties have been traditionally used for generations in some parts of the world. In this study, fumigant toxicity of some essential oils extracted from Rosmarinus officinalis L., Mentha pulegium L., Zataria multiflora, and Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck var. hamlin on adults of stored-product pests, including Tribolium castaneum, Sitophilus granarius, Callosobruchus maculatus, and Plodia interpunctella were investigated. Pure essential oils were used in glass vials for the bioassay. LC50 values of Citrus sinensis var. hamlin against T. castaneum , S. granarius , and C. maculatus were 391.28, 367.75, and 223.48 μL L-1 air after 24 h, 362.40, 20.45, and 207.17 μL L-1 air after 48 h, respectively. Furthermore, LC50 values of the fumigant test of C. sinensis and M. pulegium essential oils against S. granarius were 0.038 and 367.75 μL L-1 air after 24 h, 0.025 and 320.45 μL L-1 air after 48 h, respectively. On the other hand, LC50 values of R. officinalis and Z. multiflora on P. interpunctella moths were 0.93 and 1.75 μL L-1 after 24 h. Results showed that among tested essential oils, C. sinensis var. hamlin had good fumigant toxicity on T. castaneum , S. granarius , and C. maculatus . In addition, M. pulegium essential oil was stronger than C. sinensis var. hamlin on S. granarius . Results also indicated that both Z. multiflora and R. officinalis had fumigant toxicity on P. interpunctella adults. In summary, results indicated that these essential oils have good fumigant toxicity on stored-product pests.Materiales vegetales con propiedades insecticidas han sido usados tradicionalmente por generaciones en algunas partes del mundo. En este estudio se estudió la toxicidad fumigante de algunos aceites esenciales extraídos desde Rosmarinus officinalis L., Mentha pulegium L., Zataria multiflora y Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck var. hamlin sobre adultos de plagas de productos almacenados, incluyendo Tribolium castaneum, Sitophilus granarius, Callosobruchus maculatus y Plodia interpunctella. Para los bioensayos se usaron aceites esenciales puros en frascos de vidrio. Los valores de LC50 de C. sinensis var. hamlin contra T. castaneum , S. granarius y C. maculatus fueron 391.28, 367.75 y 223.48 después de 24 h y 362.40, 20.45 y 207.17 μL L-1 aire después de 48 h, respectivamente. Además, los valores de LC50 de la prueba fumigante del aceite esencial de C. sinensis y M. pulegium contra S. granarius después de 24 h fueron 0,038 y 367,75 μL L-1 aire y fueron 0,025 y 320,45 después de 48 h, respectivamente. Por otra parte, los valores de LC50 de R. officinalis y Z. multiflora en polillas de P. interpunctella después de 24 h fueron 0,93 y 1,75 μL L-1. Los resultados mostraron que entre los aceites esenciales, C. sinensis var. hamlin tuvo una buena toxicidad fumigante sobre T. castaneum , S. granarius , C. maculatus . Además, el aceite esencial de M. pulegium fue más fuerte que C. sinensis var. hamlin sobre S. granarius . Los resultados además indicaron que Z. multiflora and R. officinalis tuvieron toxicidad fumigante sobre adultos de P. interpunctella . En conclusión, los resultados indicaron que estos aceites esenciales tienen buena toxicidad fumigante sobre plagas de productos almacenados

A report of outbreaks of measles on the southern coast of Iran from 2009 to 2015

Introduction: Immunogenicity assessment figures of the measles vaccine is approximately 90%, and decreases over time. Therefore, the immunity level of measles vaccine is variable which can result in outbreaks of measles in a population. The aim of current study was to report the outbreaks of measles in Hormozgan province from 2009 to 2015. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in Hormozgan Province on the southern coast of Iran. The documented data of all cases suspected of measles are included in this study. We used a checklist including gender, age, area, place of residence, contact history, and vaccination status to extract required data. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics software version 21.0. Results: Eight hundred fifty-one suspicious cases of measles were determined from 2006 to 2015. Of those, 135 infected cases were reported. Among patients, 49% were male, 79% were Iranian, 18% were Afghans, and 3 % were Indians or Pakistanis. Also, 31% of cases were reported from Bandar Abbas, 25% were reported from Minab, 18% from Qeshm, 17 % from Jask and other cases were reported from other areas of the Hormozgan Province. Thirty percent of the cases were reported from urban areas. Conclusion: A high percentage of cases with measles in rural areas were reported in the areas which were covered by complete vaccination. This shows interruption of cold continuum. Also, increasing the number of under one-years-old cases reported, could be due to poor nutritional status of the children and insufficient immunization of mothers. Further studies are required for identifying the causes of cold continuum interruption. Further studies are required for the assessment of immunization in children and mothers and various vaccination protocol

Distributed energy resources management using plug-in hybrid electric vehicles as a fuel-shifting demand response resource

In the smart grids context, distributed energy resources management plays an important role in the power systems’ operation. Battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles should be important resources in the future distribution networks operation. Therefore, it is important to develop adequate methodologies to schedule the electric vehicles’ charge and discharge processes, avoiding network congestions and providing ancillary services. This paper proposes the participation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in fuel shifting demand response programs. Two services are proposed, namely the fuel shifting and the fuel discharging. The fuel shifting program consists in replacing the electric energy by fossil fuels in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles daily trips, and the fuel discharge program consists in use of their internal combustion engine to generate electricity injecting into the network. These programs are included in an energy resources management algorithm which integrates the management of other resources. The paper presents a case study considering a 37-bus distribution network with 25 distributed generators, 1908 consumers, and 2430 plug-in vehicles. Two scenarios are tested, namely a scenario with high photovoltaic generation, and a scenario without photovoltaic generation. A sensitivity analyses is performed in order to evaluate when each energy resource is required