Environmental Impacts of the liquid waste from Assalaya Sugar Factory in Rabek Locality, White Nile State, Sudan

The study aimed to assess the environmental health impacts of the liquid waste from Assalaya Sugar Factory, the efficiency of the existing Assalaya effluent treatment plant, the dilution factors available in the White Nile to gather with wastewater environmental impacts. A descriptive cross-sectional focused on the Factory and its neighborhoods. Four hundred and thirty two out of 3931 households were statistically determined as the sample size, the individual samples were picked using multi-stage stratified method 432 households selected as sample size. Data were collected by using structured questionnaires, field observations, laboratory analysis and interviewing the concerned and affected persons. The effluent load discharged from the factory into the Al - jassir canal at the White Nile was analyzed for BOD, COD, pH, PO4, TDS, TSS, Turbidity, Color, and flow rate.The Data were processed by using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 16, Chi-square test, test associations and office excel 2007. The study showed that Eighty one percent of the households used the surplus irrigation canal as a source for water supply. 64% of the respondents suffered from diarrhea, vomiting and allergic diseases, the rather low rate of water consumption and the bad quality of water consumed were reflected adversely on hygiene and consequently increased water related diseases. The study concludes that always or sometime 49.5% of the water collectors were children and used animals and plastic containers for water collection and transportation. The conducted laboratory water analysis revealed that the average concentrations of PO4, COD and BOD of the raw wastewater produced by Assalaya Sugar Factory were 4260, 3800 and 1500 mg/l, respectively, these values were above the WHO recommended concentrations for the disposed treated effluent (2, 250 and 30 mg/L respectively). As to physical analysis; the turbidity on the average was higher (540 NTU) and the color was (854 TCU) also high

Monitoring Diptera species of medical and veterinary importance in Saudi Arabia: Comparative efficacy of lure-baited and chromotropic traps

Abstract A number of Diptera species have medical and veterinary importance as they cause myiasis and act as vectors for protozoans, helminth eggs, as well as bacterial pathogens. In this research here, eleven Diptera species were monitored in five locations in Northwestern part of Saudi Arabia, using three types of traps (lure-baited traps, window fly trap and yellow sticky traps). As a general trend, the dominant flies were Musca domestica, Musca sorbens, Calliphora sp., blowfly Chrysomya sp. and Sarcophaga haemorrhidalis. No significant differences were observed among the total number of flies collected indoor and outdoor at each site using different traps. In the slaughter house, the three types of traps showed significant differences in the mean of collected flies (F = 4.135). Lure-baited traps showed significant differences in the abundance of the flies collected over the other two traps. In vegetable markets, fly abundance varied significantly among the three types of traps (F = 13.934). In the animal market, the mean number of flies collected varied significantly among the three types of traps (F = 4.792). Similar patterns of variation in the number of flies collected by different traps were shown in farms (F = 4.747). However, in the residential area, no significant difference was detected in the mean number of flies collected by three traps (F = 2.620). M. domestica was found to be the most abundant species in all locations with a remarkable high abundance in animal facilities, and the lure-baited traps were found to be the most effective for monitoring fly abundance. Overall, our research adds basic knowledge for future control programs against flies of medical and veterinary importance in Saudi Arabia

Resistance development to bioinsecticides in Aedes aegypti (Culicidae: Diptera), the vector of dengue fever in Saudi Arabia

A laboratory strain of Aedes aegypti (L) was subjected repeatedly to larval selection pressure with two bacterial insecticides, spinosad (Saccharopolyspora spinosa) and bacilod (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis). The results indicated that the mosquito Ae. aegypti acquired low resistance to spinosad and bacilod by about 3.1 and 2.4-fold, respectively, due to selection pressure for fifteen successive generations. The slope values of the selected strains were increased gradually from one generation to the next, indicating moderate homogeneity between individuals in their response to the test bio-insecticide. Moreover, larval selection with current bacterial bioinsecticides prolonged the time required to digest a blood meal. It showed an evident decrease in the reproductive potential of adult mosquitoes surviving selected larvae

Public health and veterinary important flies (order: Diptera) prevalent in Jeddah Saudi Arabia with their dominant characteristics and identification key

Order Diptera of class insecta is of immense importance for the public and animal health and hygiene. Many dipteran flies are potential vectors of dreadful diseases. Therefore, it is required to have a simple characterization method and identification key for the field workers and entomologists. The present study fulfill the need and focus on the identification to generate a base line data with the help of original photographs. Nine families with 16 species of dipteran flies (other than mosquitoes) from Jeddah region of Saudi Arabia are included in this work. Major families which are more prevalent and common in this region are Muscidae, Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae and Phoridae. Keywords: Public health, Veterinary, Diptera, Flies, Muscidae, Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Phorida

Enzymatic Synthesis of Glucose Fatty Acid Esters Using SCOs as Acyl Group-Donors and Their Biological Activities

Sugar fatty acid esters, especially glucose fatty acid esters (GEs), have broad applications in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. In this research, the fatty acid moieties derived from polyunsaturated fatty acids containing single-cell oils (SCOs) (i.e., those produced from Cunninghamella echinulata, Umbelopsis isabellina and Nannochloropsis gaditana, as well as from olive oil and an eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) concentrate) were converted into GEs by enzymatic synthesis, using lipases as biocatalysts. The GE synthesis was monitored using thin-layer chromatography, FTIR and in situ NMR. It was found that GE synthesis carried out using immobilized Candida antarctica B lipase was very effective, reaching total conversion of reactants. It was shown that EPA-GEs were very effective against several pathogenic bacteria and their activity can be attributed to their high EPA content. Furthermore, C. echinulata-GEs were more effective against pathogens compared with U. isabellina-GEs, probably due to the presence of gamma linolenic acid (GLA) in the lipids of C. echinulata, which is known for its antimicrobial activity, in higher concentrations. C. echinulata-GEs also showed strong insecticidal activity against Aedes aegypti larvae, followed by EPA-GEs, olive oil-GEs and N. gaditana-GEs. All synthesized GEs induced apoptosis of the SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cell line, with the apoptotic rate increasing significantly after 48 h. A higher percentage of apoptosis was observed in the cells treated with EPA-GEs, followed by C. echinulata-GEs, U. isabellina-GEs and olive oil-GEs. We conclude that SCOs can be used in the synthesis of GEs with interesting biological properties

Seagrasses as sources of mosquito Nano-Larvicides? Toxicity and uptake of Halodule uninervis-biofabricated silver nanoparticles in Dengue and Zika Virus vector Aedes aegypti

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) act as vectors for devastating pathogens and parasites. Zika virus, an Aedes mosquito-borne flavivirus, is becoming a worldwide public health concern following its suspected association with over 4000 recent cases of microcephaly in the infants of some women who were pregnant when they contracted the disease. There are no specific treatments for Zika virus, thus the eco-friendly and effective control of mosquito vectors is crucial. This research proposed a novel method of seagrass-mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) using Halodule uninervis as a reducing and capping agent. UV–Vis spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, SEM, EDX spectroscopy, XRD and Raman analysis confirmed the rapid and cheap synthesis of AgNP. LC50of H. uninervis extract against Aedes aegypti was 295.629 ppm and LC50of H. uninervis-synthesized AgNP was 12.554 ppm. Microscopy analysis pointed out the uptake of H. uninervis-fabricated AgNP in the midgut of mosquito larvae. In MIC assays, low doses of the AgNP inhibited the growth of Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella typhi. Overall, this research shed light on the mosquitocidal potential of H. uninervis, as a bio-resource for the cheap and effective nanosynthesis of mosquitocidal biopesticides

The desert wormwood ( Artemisia herba - alba ) – From Arabian folk medicine to a source of green and effective nanoinsecticides against mosquito vectors

The development of eco-friendly and effective insecticides is crucial for public health worldwide. Herein, we focused on the desert wormwood (Artemisia herba-alba), a plant widely used in Arabian traditional medicine, as a source of green nanoinsecticides against mosquito vectors, as well as growth inhibitors to be employed against microbial pathogens. Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) fabricated with the A. herba-alba extract were tested on Indian and Saudi Arabian strains of Anopheles, Aedes and Culex mosquitoes. The chemical profile of the A. herba-alba extract was determined by LC-DAD-MS and 1H NMR studies. Then, AgNPs were studied using UV–vis spectroscopy, XRD, FTIR spectroscopy, TEM, and EDX analyses. Artemisia herba-alba-synthesized AgNPs showed high larvicidal toxicity against mosquitoes from both Indian and Saudi Arabian strains. LC50 of AgNPs against Indian strains was 9.76 μg/ml for An. stephensi, 10.70 μg/ml for Ae. aegypti and 11.43 μg/ml for Cx. quinquefasciatus, whereas against Saudi Arabian strains it was 33.58 μg/ml for Ae. aegypti and 38.06 μg/ml for Cx. pipiens. In adulticidal experiments, A. herba-alba extract showed LC50 ranging from 293.02 to 450 μg/ml, while AgNP LC50 ranged from 8.22 to 27.39 μg/ml. Further, low doses of the AgNPs inhibited the growth of selected microbial pathogens. Overall, A. herba-alba can be further considered as a source of phytochemicals, with special reference to saponins, for effective and prompt fabrication of AgNPs with relevant insecticidal and bactericidal activity against species of high public health importance