An investigation on permethrin-treated military uniforms against diurnal mosquitoes under field conditions

Background: Military forces are exposed to mosquito bites because of their duties. In addition to the nuisance caused by mosquito bites, they are the vector of some vector-borne diseases in many countries of the world. Impregnation of military uniforms with permethrin is one of the most effective methods of protecting military personnel. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of permethrin-impregnated uniforms against diurnal mosquitoes under field conditions.Methods:  In this study, one of the most common uniforms used in the Iranian military was treated by permethrin (0.125 mg. permethrin ai/cm2) and evaluated against the natural population of day-biting mosquitoes, in the rural area with Eight participants, three of them put on the treated uniforms and the other one of them wore the untreated uniforms and Four officers were also appointed as collectors.Results: The average number of bites in those who wore untreated uniforms (control) was 1.8/min/person (107.8/hr), while it was 0.16 (9.83/hr) for treated uniforms. The protection of treated uniforms was about 91%. The knockdown rate for Culex and Aedes mosquitoes was 95.92% and 94.44%, respectively. The mortality rate in Culex was 98.59% and 98.61% in Aedes mosquitoes when exposed to treated uniforms.Conclusion: In this study, military uniforms impregnated with permethrin showed significant protection against the bites of Culex and Aedes mosquitoes. This intervention can be used to protect military personnel from the bites of Culex and Aedes these mosquitoes and to reduce the diseases transmitted by these mosquitoes.Keywords: Permethrin; Military uniforms; Impregnation; Mosquitoe

Genotoxic and cytotoxic potential of whole plant extracts of Kalanchoe laciniata by Ames and MTT assay

Lack of data on safety of herbal medicines have endangered human health and life. The present study evaluated the genotoxic and mutagenic effect of Kalanchoe laciniata to access the safety and usefulness of the medicinal plant. Aqua-methanolic and n-hexane extracts of K. laciniata were evaluated for the genotoxic potential using Ames assay and cytotoxicity was evaluated using MTT assay. Ames assay was conducted using two strains of Salmonella typhimurium TA-100 and TA-102 whereas MTT assay was performed on baby hamster kidney cell line BHK-21. Aqua-methanolic extract of K. laciniata exhibited significant mutagenicity when exposed to TA- 102 strain with a mutagenic index of 50.66 and 54.74 at maximum dose 150 mg/plate. The extract was also muta- genic to TA-100 strain but to a lesser extent. M.I of n-hexane extract was 12.15 and 15.51 for TA-100 and TA- 102 respectively. n-hexane extract was mutagenic but little difference was observed between results of two strains. Both extracts were found to be cytotoxic with an IC50 of 321.9 and 638.5 µg/mL for aqua-methanolic and n-hexane extracts respectively. On the basis of results it was concluded that aqua-methanolic and n-hexane extracts of K. mutagenic and cytotoxic potential. It is suggested to explore the plant further to evaluate its safety in rodents and other species

Biochar: An emerging recipe for designing sustainable horticulture under climate change scenarios

The interest in sustainable horticulture has recently increased, given anthropogenic climate change. The increasing global population will exacerbate the climate change situation induced by human activities. This will elevate global food demands and the vulnerability of horticultural systems, with severe concerns related to natural resource availability and usage. Sustainable horticulture involves adopting eco-friendly strategies to boost yields while maintaining environmental conservation. Biochar (BC), a carbon-rich material, is widely used in farming to improve soil physical and chemical properties and as an organic substitute for peat in growing media. BC amendments to soil or growing media improve seedling growth, increase photosynthetic pigments, and enhances photosynthesis, thus improving crop productivity. Soil BC incorporation improves abiotic and biotic stress tolerance, which are significant constraints in horticulture. BC application also improves disease control to an acceptable level or enhance plant resistance to pathogens. Moreover, BC amendments in contaminated soil decrease the uptake of potentially hazardous metals, thus minimizing their harmful effects on humans. This review summarizes the most recent knowledge related to BC use in sustainable horticulture. This includes the effect of BC on enhancing horticultural crop production and inducing resistance to major abiotic and biotic stresses. It also discuss major gaps and future directions for exploiting BC technology

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, ANTI-NOCICEPTIVE AND ANTIPYRETIC POTENTIAL OF TERMINALIA CITRINA FRUIT EXTRACTS

Background: Plants and herbs have long been used as remedies without scientific evidences. The objective of the present study was to explore the anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive and antipyretic potential of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Terminalia citrina fruits in mice. Materials and Methods: Extracts of Terminalia citrina fruits were evaluated at doses of 200mg/kg, 400mg/kg and 600mg/kg in albino mice for preventive effect in inflammatory edema, peripheral pain sensation and pyrexia. Carrageenan induced paw edema method was utilized to evaluate anti-inflammatory activity. Analgesic appraisal of extracts was demonstrated using acetic acid induced writhing model of pain. Antipyretic potential was determined by brewer’s yeast induced pyrexia model. Statistical analysis was conducted by ANOVA following post hoc test. Results: Both extracts exhibited significant and dose-dependent anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activities. The ethanolic extract was more effective in reducing inflammatory edema, pyrexia and pain sensation than aqueous extracts in all tested doses. Conclusion: It can be concluded that fruit extracts of Terminalia citrina may be effective in reducing inflammation, pyrexia and pain sensation in animals

Salt stress proteins in plants: An overview

Salinity stress is considered the most devastating abiotic stress for crop productivity. Accumulating different types of soluble proteins has evolved as a vital strategy that plays a central regulatory role in the growth and development of plants subjected to salt stress. In the last two decades, efforts have been undertaken to critically examine the genome structure and functions of the transcriptome in plants subjected to salinity stress. Although genomics and transcriptomics studies indicate physiological and biochemical alterations in plants, it do not reflect changes in the amount and type of proteins corresponding to gene expression at the transcriptome level. In addition, proteins are a more reliable determinant of salt tolerance than simple gene expression as they play major roles in shaping physiological traits in salt-tolerant phenotypes. However, little information is available on salt stress-responsive proteins and their possible modes of action in conferring salinity stress tolerance. In addition, a complete proteome profile under normal or stress conditions has not been established yet for any model plant species. Similarly, a complete set of low abundant and key stress regulatory proteins in plants has not been identified. Furthermore, insufficient information on post-translational modifications in salt stress regulatory proteins is available. Therefore, in recent past, studies focused on exploring changes in protein expression under salt stress, which will complement genomic, transcriptomic, and physiological studies in understanding mechanism of salt tolerance in plants. This review focused on recent studies on proteome profiling in plants subjected to salinity stress, and provide synthesis of updated literature about how salinity regulates various salt stress proteins involved in the plant salt tolerance mechanism. This review also highlights the recent reports on regulation of salt stress proteins using transgenic approaches with enhanced salt stress tolerance in crops

Political connections and corporate financial decision making

This paper investigates whether and how political connections influence managerial financial decisions. Our study reveals that those firms that have a politician on its board of directors are highly leveraged, use more long-term debt, hold large excess cash and are associated with low quality financial reporting compared to their non-connected counterparts. These effects escalate with the strength of the connected politician and whether he or his party is in power. The winning party effect is observed to be stronger than victory by the politician himself. Overall, our paper provides strong evidence that political connection is a two-edged sword. It is indeed a valuable resource for connected firms, but it comes at a cost of higher agency problems

Muslim Personal Law (MPL) in review”

Both the interim (1993) and final (1996) South African Constitutions now not only guarantee freedom of religion and belief but also makes provision within the Bill of Rights that legislation can be provided by the state for the recognition of any religious personal law (section 14 (3)(a)) (now section 15 (3)(a)(ii)) and for the recognition of Muslim marriages (section 14 (3)(b)) (now section 15 (3)(a)(i)). It is vital that S 15 (3) should be used to recognize Muslim marriages as well as MPL. Muslim marriages should not be recognized in isolation because they form an integral part of MPL The consequences of Muslim marriages, for example their dissolution, are directly linked to other aspects of MPL like inheritance, custody and maintenance. A state never recognizes all the rules of a personal law and almost always limits its practical application in several ways. Furthermore, the government has made it clear in the final Constitution that even though provision is made for the possible recognition and implementation of MPL (and not any other aspect of Islamic law), it must conform to the Bill of Rights and equality enshrined therein. The right to have MPL recognized is therefore not constitutionalized. MPL therefore needs to be reformed before it will be officially recognised. However, Muslims are split on the way forward and hence the status quo prevails: MPL remains unreformed and therefore unrecognised. Mandela's meeting with prominent Muslim clergy during 1998 sparked off renewed fervour on the topic of MPL. And so, any discussion on the progress and developments in 1998 should be prefaced with the fact that the Ministry of Justice, under the leadership of Dullah Omar, was specifically requested by President Mandela to pursue the drafting and implementation of legislation recognising Muslim marriages

Torus palatinus

Kupffer and Bessel-Hagen coined the term torus palatinus in 1879 for a benign osseous protuberance arising from the midline of the hard palate. Tori are present in approximately 20% of the population and are occult until adulthood. Recent advances in modern radiology have led to improved evaluation and diagnosis of tori

Pharmacogenomics of Sulfonylureas Response in Relation to rs7754840 Polymorphisms in Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5 Regulatory Subunit-associated Protein 1-like (CDKAL1) Gene in Iranian Type 2 Diabetes Patients

Background: Sulfonylureas are important drugs of choice for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). It is suggested that differential response to sulfonylureas from T2DM patients is under influence of single nucleotide polymorphisms in some of the target genes. In spite of favorable therapeutic effects, sulfonylureas are associated with some adverse side effects such as microvascular complications and stroke, especially in older patients. Therefore, for T2DM patients who are getting less benefit, sulfonylureas should be avoided. Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 regulatory subunit-associated protein 1-like (CDKAL1) gene variation is reported to be associated with sulfonylureas effectiveness. Due to the inconsistency of available data regarding association of rs7754840 in CDKAL1 gene with sulfonylureas response in T2DM patients, the present study is conducted. Materials and Methods: Fifty-one diabetic patients sensitive to sulfonylureas and 51 patients resistant to sulfonylureas treatment were recruited to this study. After extraction of DNA from patients' peripheral blood samples, rs7754840 single-nucleotide polymorphism was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay using MaeII (Tail) restriction enzyme. Results: Frequency of G allele in resistant group was more than sensitive group (71, 6% vs. 57, 8%). Regression analysis was shown significant association between GG genotype and higher risk of resistance to sulfonylureas treatment (odds ratio = 2.250 [95% confidential intervals: 1.010–5.012]; P = 0.046). Conclusion: Our data confirmed that genotypes of rs7754840 are significantly associated with sulfonylureas treatment response. rs7754840 in CDKAL1 gene in combination with other clinicopathological findings would help to move towards personalized therapy of T2DM patients

Preharvest application of hydrogen sulfide and nitric oxide improves floral traits and postharvest performance of cut gladiolus inflorescences

Gladiolus is a well-known bulbous plant producing impressive cut spikes. Hydrogen sulfide and nitric oxide are vital signaling molecules for the proper functioning of plant metabolism. Preharvest applications of these molecules to crops have gained attention in recent years due to their positive role in tackling abiotic stresses, although, their role in geophytes is comparatively less studied. We assessed the effects of preharvest H2S and NO treatments on development, flowering, harvest and postharvest performance of gladiolus inflorescences. NO and H2S+NO treatments increased preharvest performance of plants associated with corm production, inflorescences length and harvest time. Individual and combined treatments improved postharvest vase life (VL) up to 3.4 d. Total soluble proteins (TSP) were increased in response to H2S, NO and H2S+NO treatments by 39%, 43%, and 55%, respectively compared to the controls. Soluble sugars (SS) were increased after NO and H2S+NO treatments by up to 25% and 42%, respectively. Postharvest catalase (CAT) activity was higher by 65%, 68%, and 76% after H2S, NO and H2S+NO treatments, respectively. Malondialdehyde (MDA) was decreased by all preharvest treatments by up to 88%, although, only the combined H2S+NO treatment reduced H2O2 and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. The results confirm that preharvest treatments with H2S, NO and H2S+NO may positively affect growth, floral traits and postharvest performance of cut gladiolus inflorescences