scholarly journals Predators of the Alfalfa Aphids Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), Aphis craccivora Koch, and Therioaphis trifolii (Monell) (Hemiptera: Aphidoidea) as Determined by the Serological Technique

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-123
Author(s):  
Suzan Beatriz Zambon da Cunha ◽  
Carlos Roberto Sousa e Silva ◽  
Flávio Henrique Góis Diniz ◽  
Evôneo Berti-Filho

Predators of the Alfalfa Aphids Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), Aphis craccivora Koch,and Therioaphis trifolii (Monell) (Hemiptera: Aphidoidea) as Determined by the Serological TechniqueAbstract. The serology is an immunological technique based on antigen/antibody reactions in where its main advantages are high sensitivity and specificity that allows the biological recognition at the molecular level. This study evaluates the use of serology technique to determine the predators of the alfalfa aphids Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), Aphis craccivora Koch,and Therioaphis trifolii (Monell)(Hemiptera: Aphidoidea). The aphid samplings to obtain the antibodies and their possible predators to be used as antigens were carried out in the alfalfa fields of the Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste Unit, São Carlos, SP. In the period from August 2011 to July 2012. A total of 2,161 arthropod predators, including insects and spiders, were tested. The antibodies obtained for the aphid A. craccivora, A. pisum, and T. trifolii showed partial identity nevertheless still allowed to recognize the predators of alfalfa aphids. Among the insects, syrphids and chrysopids presented the highest percentage of positive results in the serological tests.  The species A. craccivora was the most preyed aphid.Determinação de Predadores dos Pulgões da Alfafa Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), Aphis craccivora Koch e Therioaphis trifolii (Monell)(Hemiptera: Aphidoidea) por meio da Técnica SerológicaResumo. A serologia é uma técnica imunológica baseada em reações antígeno/anticorpo, em que suas principais vantagens são a alta sensibilidade e especificidade que permitem o reconhecimento biológico em nível molecular. Este trabalho avalia o uso da técnica serológica para determinar os predadores dos pulgões da alfafa, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), Aphis craccivora Koch e Therioaphis trifolii (Monell) (Hemiptera: Aphidoidea). As coletas dos pulgões para a obtenção dos anticorpos e de seus possíveis predadores para serem utilizados como antígenos foram realizadas nos campos de alfafa da Unidade da Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste, São Carlos, SP. no período de agosto de 2011 a julho de 2012. Foram testados 2.161 artrópodes predadores, incluindo insetos e aranhas. Os anticorpos obtidos para os pulgões A. craccivora, A. pisum, e T. trifolii mostraram identidade parcial mas, ainda assim, permitiu reconhecer os predadores dos pulgões da alfafa. Dentre os insetos, sirfídeos e crisopídeos foram os que apresentaram as maiores porcentagens de resultados positivos nos testes serológicos. A. craccivora foi o afídeo mais consumido pelos predadores.

Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 869
Author(s):  
Amedeo De Nicolò ◽  
Valeria Avataneo ◽  
Jessica Cusato ◽  
Alice Palermiti ◽  
Jacopo Mula ◽  
...  

Recently, large-scale screening for COVID-19 has presented a major challenge, limiting timely countermeasures. Therefore, the application of suitable rapid serological tests could provide useful information, however, little evidence regarding their robustness is currently available. In this work, we evaluated and compared the analytical performance of a rapid lateral-flow test (LFA) and a fast semiquantitative fluorescent immunoassay (FIA) for anti-nucleocapsid (anti-NC) antibodies, with the reverse transcriptase real-time PCR assay as the reference. In 222 patients, LFA showed poor sensitivity (55.9%) within two weeks from PCR, while later testing was more reliable (sensitivity of 85.7% and specificity of 93.1%). Moreover, in a subset of 100 patients, FIA showed high sensitivity (89.1%) and specificity (94.1%) after two weeks from PCR. The coupled application for the screening of 183 patients showed satisfactory concordance (K = 0.858). In conclusion, rapid serological tests were largely not useful for early diagnosis, but they showed good performance in later stages of infection. These could be useful for back-tracing and/or to identify potentially immune subjects.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-154
Author(s):  
MA Hossain ◽  
MS Yasmin ◽  
MAA Bachchu ◽  
MA Alim

Botanicals are promising and attractive alternatives for pest management. In the present study, three botanical oils namely neem (Azadirachta indica), karanja (Pongamia pinnata) and mehogony (Swietenia mahagoni) were tested against the nymphs of Aphis craccivora Koch to evaluate the toxic and repellent effects under laboratory conditions (25 ± 5oC, 65-75% RH). Four concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0%) along with control were maintained with distilled water and tween-20 was used as emulsifier. Leaf dipped method were used for insect bioassay. Insect mortality was recorded at 24, 48 and 72 hours after intervals while repellency was carried out at 2 hours after intervals upto 10th hours and the collected data were analyzed through MSTAT-C program. Results indicated that all the tested oils had toxic and repellent effects against the A. craccivora nymphs. Among the tested botanical oils, no significant difference was observed in terms of mortality over treatment time. But significant difference was noticed over level of concentrations exerted by the botanical oils. The average highest mortality (28.62%) was recorded by the application of mehogony oil whereas neem oil showed the lowest mortality (27.21%) against the A. craccivora and the mortality was directly proportional to the level of concentrations and hour after treatment (HAT). Probit analysis showed the lowest LD50 values of mehogony oil which revealed the highest toxic effect against the nymph of bean aphid. The highest repellent effect (77.33%) was found in mehogony oil (repellent class IV) among all the botanical oils applied. On the contrary, neem (57.33%) and karanja (55.00%) oils belonged to the same repellent class that is repellent class II. Although all the tested botanical oils evaluated showed toxic and repellent effects but mehogony oil performed as the best potent oil against the nymphs. We therefore suggested using the mehogony oil for the management of bean aphid. SAARC J. Agric., 19(1): 139-154 (2021)


2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-314
Author(s):  
Beata Polińska ◽  
Joanna Matowicka-Karna ◽  
Halina Kemona

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, autoimmune connective tissue disease of unknown etiology. RA affects about 1% of the human population, women suffer three times more often than men, with the peak incidence between the age of 40 to 50. The up-to-date criteria from 2010 for the diagnosis of RA include: occurrence and duration of clinical signs, indicators of inflammation and serological tests. Neopterin, a protein released by macrophages, is a sensitive indicator of inflammation and the severity of RA. Regarding the serological tests, anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies represent a well-known marker with the specificity for RA of about 98%. The antibodies may be present in the serum of patients even a few years before the first clinical signs of the disease, heralding erosive changes in the joints and more severe course of RA. The literature also contains reports about autoantibodies anti-CarP and anti-Sa/ anti-MCV, which may occur in people with pain and swelling of joints and precede full-blown development of RA as well as reflect disease activity. Serological diagnosis of RA may be supported by some genetic tests based on PCR for detecting mutations e.g. C1858T in the PNPN22 gene. In turn, the quantitative analysis of different classes of miRNAs seems justified in order to better classify patients showing symptoms of RA. Further studies are needed that take into account the role of different markers in the development of RA, and confirm the high sensitivity and specificity of these markers in the diagnosis of the disease.


1976 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. K. Farrell

AbstractIn two trials, at Chitedze, Malawi, in 1966–1967, the spread of rosette virus disease in groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea) intersown with field beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) was less than the spread in groundnut monocultures comprising plant populations equivalent to the number of groundnut plants and to the total number of plants in the intersown crop. In one trial, numbers of early rosette transmissions were related to numbers of alate Aphis craccivora Koch, the vector of the virus, found on groundnut plants. Immigrant alate A. craccivora settling on the intersown crop were trapped by the hooked epidermal hairs of the bean plants and the observed reduction of rosette infection in the intersown crop was attributed to this effect. Inter-sowing with beans is considered less effective than early-sown, high-density monoculture as a method of reducing groundnut rosette infections and yields of groundnuts from inter-sown crops may be lower than those obtained from high-density monoculture.


1994 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 409-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Young ◽  
P J Walker ◽  
D Merry ◽  
A Mifsud

A prototype Western blot kit was evaluated as a confirmatory test for syphilis using 131 sera characterized by other serological tests for syphilis. There were 114 treponemal sera (including 94 cases of early syphilis, 83 of which were untreated) and 17 non-treponemal problem sera (11 gave false positive reactions on screening with the TmpA recombinant antigen enzyme immunoassay (EIA), 3 gave false positive fluorescent treponemal antibody absorbed (FTA-abs) tests, and 3 false positive Captia Syphilis G EIA results). Based on the manufacturer's criteria of reactivity in multiple bands for designating a positive result the Western blot test gave a sensitivity of 99.1% (113/114) and a specificity of 88.2% (15/17) when indeterminate reactions were scored positive and 98.2% (112/114) and 100% (17/17) when indeterminate reactions were scored negative. Sensitivity was high in both treated and untreated infection. Corresponding sensitivities for the TPHA and FTA-abs when equivocal reactions were scored negative were 97.5% (111/114) and 99.1% (113/114). The high sensitivity of the FTA-abs in this study is probably due to the large number of untreated primary infections. Our results with the Western blot, confirm earlier studies using ‘in-house’ test systems and, support a role for a commercial Western blot test in the confirmatory diagnosis of syphilis. Further studies are required to confirm the high specificity and sensitivity of the kit in a larger series including a wider variety of non-treponemal cases as well as patients with untreated and treated infection.


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