Toxic, Oviposition Deterrent and Oxidative Stress Effects of Thymus vulgaris Essential Oil against Acanthoscelides obtectus

Simple Summary Compounds of botanical origin, including essential oils (EOs), which coevolved as plant defense mechanism against herbivores and pathogens have been proposed as a promising strategy for post-harvest control of stored product insects. Despite several drawbacks, such as low stability, phytotoxicity and food odor changes at high concentrations, EOs are believed to be safe for human and environmental health and thus have an advantage comparing to conventional insecticides. The present study was aimed to examine acute toxicity and effects of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) EO on longevity, behavior and physiology of the bean weevil (Acanthoscelides obtectus), a major pest of stored bean seeds. We found that exposure to thyme oil reduced adult survival and longevity and induced damages to lipids and proteins in a concentration-dependent manner. Sublethal EO concentrations also deterred female egg laying and strongly inhibited adult emergence. Efficacy of such low EO concentrations in suppression of adult emergence implies that thyme EO might be cost-effective and environmentally low risk botanical insecticide for bean seed protection against A. obtectus. The bean weevil Acanthoscelides obtectus Say (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) can cause significant losses in production of its primary host common bean Phaseolus vulgaris L. To avoid bean protection with environmentally risky chemical insecticides and provide sustainable and safe production of food, new pest management methods based on natural compounds are investigated. In the present study, we evaluated protective potential of the essential oil (EO) from the common thyme Thymus vulgaris L. applied on bean seeds. We assessed residual contact toxicity of thyme EO and its effects on A. obtectus longevity, oviposition and adult emergence. Furthermore, to elucidate the role of oxidative stress in thyme EO toxicity, we estimated the levels of oxidatively damaged proteins and lipids, as well as the level of thiols which have important role for antioxidant capacity. We found that thyme oil significantly reduced adult survival and longevity, induced oxidative damage to lipids and proteins and depleted protein and non-protein thiols in a concentration-dependent manner. Females appeared to be more tolerant to thyme oil treatment than males. Sublethal EO concentrations affected oxidative stress indices, deterred oviposition and strongly inhibited adult emergence. The results suggest that thyme oil has the potential to be used as an ecofriendly insecticide for A. obtectus control

SERUM LEVELS OF INTERLEUKIN-6 AND TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA IN EXACERBATION AND REMISSION PHASE OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

Background: The variations in proinflamatory cytokine levels have been associated with schizophrenia (SCH), duration of illness, psychopathology and treatment. The aim of the study was to investigate serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factoralpha (TNF-α) in schizophrenic patients during exacerbation and remission, and its association with course of illness and therapy. Subjects and methods: We measured serum levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in 43 schizophrenic patients in exacerbation and remission and compared them to 29 healthy controls, matched by sex, age, body mass index (BMI) and smoking habits. The severity of psychopathology was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Results: There was no difference in levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in exacerbation compared to remission in schizophrenic patients. IL-6 was higher and TNF-α was lower in schizophrenic patients in both exacerbation and remission in comparison with healthy controls. TNF-α in exacerbation was in negative correlation with IL-6 in remission. No statistical significance was found between levels of cytokines and sex, age, BMI, smoking habits, antipsychotic medication, duration of treatment and duration of illness. IL-6 levels were in positive correlation with the age of onset and the duration of untreated psychosis. In schizophrenic patients on adjunctive treatment with mood stabilizers, TNF-α levels increased in remission. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the connection between schizophrenia, cytokines and medication is multifaceted, and not necessarily linear. Adjunct mood stabilizers not only ameliorate psychopathology, but might convey immunomodulatory effects as well. Further longitudinal studies could elucidate potential beneficial effect of combined therapy in treatment of SCH

Green and Simple Approaches Towards the Modification of Lignocellulosic Surfaces

Aesthetic appearance, the good mechanical properties with regard to its light-weight and especially its natural abundance made wood an important material for the last centuries. However, wood is at the current situation often not the engineering material of choice as it suffers from its inherent drawbacks due to its hygroscopic character, e.g. the dimensional stability, and degradation processes including biological and UV degradation. To tackle the intrinsic drawbacks, numerous chemical modifications have been developed not only to inhibit the drawbacks but also to add new properties to wood such as transparency, magnetism or superhydrophobicity, to name a few. Though the current approaches are promising, they often dependent on reagents, especially solvents, which are hazardous for the environment. Referring to wood as a natural product the utilization of more green approaches would be crucial to make wood an important factor for the global transformation towards sustainable societies. Hence within this thesis, approaches have been developed to show that a chemical wood surface modification can be in agreement with green chemical methods and that modified wood can be used as a material for green engineering applications. A major part of this thesis is focused on the development of green chemical processes for wood modification, which are in agreement with the ’12 Principles of Green Chemistry’. Those principles were postulated by Paul Anastas and are meant to be a guideline but not an obstacle for the development of greener chemical processes. They also help to access the whole chemical procedure and to target the environmental hazardous parts of the process. It follows therefore that in particular solvents were identified as the hazardous part of most of the chemical wood modifications and therefore a process, which is fully in water was proposed by whom wood can be treated to achieve a superhydrophobic surface. Another focus of this thesis is on the role of wood in aspects of green engineering. As the thesis is part of the umbrella project of the ‘Swiss Energy Turnaround’ (NFP70), the utilization of wood for purposes of engineering and construction was put into a new spotlight. Since wood was mostly substituted by steel and concrete in matters of load bearing in construction in the past, the trust in the material has to be reconquered. Therefore, the design of a new ceiling construction was proposed with the objective to fully substitute the steel in the role of a fastener by a fully glued connection. However, there are several drawbacks associated with a fully glued connection, which mostly are due to the hygroscopic behaviour of the wood itself. Thus the thesis is dealing with a wood surface modification, where a priming system was developed based on sol-gel chemistry to facilitate the gluing process and to enhance the reliability of the composite. The developed priming system was shown to be a simple and versatile application as it is convenient with various epoxy based glue systems, and helps to control the amount of glue penetration. Moreover, the control of penetration is ensuring the ideal glue line thickness and in addition to that the primer is also capable of a chemical crosslink with the epoxy functionalities of the adhesive, which leads to a higher load bearing capacity of the composites in 3-point bending and 4-point bending as well as in push-out tests, which may allow to compete with traditional steel fastening systems. In this thesis, it is shown that despite the long history in the field of wood modification, there is still a large potential for the development of greener and especially more environmental friendly methods. It could also been shown that wood itself can be an ideal candidate as a lead material for the green engineering field and that it is important to combine the potential of green chemistry with the highly abundant and renewable resource wood Weniger anzeigen

CTLA-4 exon 1+49 A/G gene polymorphism in susceptibility to multiple sclerosis in patients from Serbia and Montenegro

20th Congress of the European-Committee-for-Treatment-and-Research-in-Multiple- Sclerosis/9th Annual Meeting of Rehabilitation in MS, Oct 06-09, 2004, Vienna, Austri

CTLA-4 exon 1+49 A/G gene polymorphism in susceptibility to multiple sclerosis in patients from Serbia and Montenegro

20th Congress of the European-Committee-for-Treatment-and-Research-in-Multiple- Sclerosis/9th Annual Meeting of Rehabilitation in MS, Oct 06-09, 2004, Vienna, Austri

Assessment of Sex-Specific Toxicity and Physiological Responses to Thymol in a Common Bean Pest Acanthoscelides obtectus Say

Acanthoscelides obtectus Say (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae), is one of the most important pests of the common bean Phaseolus vulgaris L. Without appropriate management it may cause significant seed loss in storages. In search for means of environmentally safe and effective protection of beans we assessed biological activity of thymol, an oxygenated monoterpene present in essential oils of many aromatic plants. We studied contact toxicity of thymol on bean seeds and its effects on adult longevity and emergence in F1 generation. Furthermore, we determined acetylcholinesterase (AChE), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), mixed-function oxidase (MFO), carboxylesterases (CarE) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities in response to 24 h exposure of beetles to sublethal and lethal thymol concentrations. Our results showed that thymol decreased adult survival, longevity and percentage of adult emergence. Higher median lethal concentration (LC50) was recorded in females indicating their higher tolerance comparing to males. Overall, activities of SOD, CAT and CarE increased at sublethal and MFO increased at both sublethal and lethal thymol concentrations. On the other hand, GST and AChE activities decreased along with the increase in thymol concentrations from sublethal (1/5 of LC50, 1/2 of LC50) to lethal (LC50). Enzyme responses to the presence of thymol on bean seed were sex-specific. In the control group females had lower CarE and higher SOD, CAT and GST activity than males. In treatment groups, females had much higher CAT activity and much lower CarE activity than males. Our results contribute to deeper understanding of physiological mechanisms underlying thymol toxicity and tolerance which should be taken into account in future formulation of a thymol-based insecticide