CONTROL OF ADULT AND LARVAL AEDES ALBOPICTUS WITH ATTRACTIVE TOXIC SUGAR BAITS (ACTIVE INGREDIENT: CINNAMON-SESAME OIL) IN NORTHEASTERN FLORIDA

Because traditional methods of mosquito control using insecticides has produced resistance, new methods that are environmentally friendly, sustainable and cost effective have been sought. One method, attractive toxic sugar baits (ATSB), uses the biological requirements, ecology, and behavior of mosquitoes to attract and kill them. In this study, the efficacy of a new ATSB active ingredient, microencapsulated cinnamon oil-plus-sesame oil, was tested in the laboratory and field against Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and the effect on non-target organisms was evaluated. The average mortality among groups of 20 third instar larvae after exposure to microencapsulated cinnamon-sesame oil ATSB in the laboratory for 48 h was high. Mortality at 10% and 1% ATSB concentration was 95.8% and 90.0% respectively and began to drop off (to 65%) at 0.1%. After application of the ATSB in the field, on day 11 of the study, the adult Ae. albopictus populations at the experimental site dropped significantly compared to pre-treatment levels and to the untreated control population. The differences between the control and the treated sites remained significant until the end of the study period on day 28. If used in accordance with label instructions and applied on non-flowering green vegetation, the potential impact on non-target populations was negligible with the exception of non-biting midges (Chironomidae). The synergistic effect of the attracting and killing adult mosquitoes as well as wash-off into part of the breeding sites with larvicidal cinnamon oil-plus-sesame oil product likely explains the high mortality of this ATSB formulation.

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Identification of a Novel Brevibacillus laterosporus Strain With Insecticidal Activity Against Aedes albopictus Larvae

Frontiers in Microbiology ◽

10.3389/fmicb.2021.624014 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Giulia Barbieri ◽

Carolina Ferrari ◽

Stefania Mamberti ◽

Paolo Gabrieli ◽

Michele Castelli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Aedes Albopictus ◽

Mosquito Control ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Bacterial Species ◽

16S Rrna Gene Sequencing ◽

Morphological Characterization ◽

Soil Samples ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Breeding Sites ◽

Brevibacillus Laterosporus

Bacterial species able to produce proteins that are toxic against insects have been discovered at the beginning of the last century. However, up to date only two of them have been used as pesticides in mosquito control strategies targeting larval breeding sites: Bacillus thuringensis var. israelensis and Lysinibacillus sphaericus. Aiming to expand the arsenal of biopesticides, bacterial cultures from 44 soil samples were assayed for their ability to kill larvae of Aedes albopictus. A method to select, grow and test the larvicidal capability of spore-forming bacteria from each soil sample was developed. This allowed identifying 13 soil samples containing strains capable of killing Ae. albopictus larvae. Among the active isolates, one strain with high toxicity was identified as Brevibacillus laterosporus by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and by morphological characterization using transmission electron microscopy. The new isolate showed a larvicidal activity significantly higher than the B. laterosporus LMG 15441 reference strain. Its genome was phylogenomically characterized and compared to the available Brevibacillus genomes. Thus, the new isolate can be considered as a candidate adjuvant to biopesticides formulations that would help preventing the insurgence of resistance.

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FIELD COMPARISON OF AUTOCIDAL GRAVID OVITRAPS AND IN2CARE TRAPS AGAINST AEDES AEGYPTI IN DOWNTOWN SAINT AUGUSTINE, NORTHEASTERN FLORIDA

Journal of the Florida Mosquito Control Association ◽

10.32473/jfmca.v68i1.129105 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 68 (1) ◽

pp. 92-96

Author(s):

Dena Autry

Keyword(s):

Aedes Aegypti ◽

Mosquito Control ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Post Treatment ◽

Adult Mosquito ◽

Treated Area ◽

Mosquito Trap ◽

Significant Difference ◽

The Mean ◽

Pre Treatment

Mosquito Control programs are utilizing cost-effective long term autocidal gravid traps because they minimize labor needs while targeting the gravid population of container-breeding mosquitoes. This field study compared the efficacy of the In2Care Mosquito Trap and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention autocidal gravid ovitrap (CDC-AGO). The study consisted of two control and two treatment sites, and each treatment site had either 100 In2Care Mosquito Traps or 100 CDC-AGOs. Aedes aegypti populations in each site were monitored using Biogent (BG) Sentinel 2 mosquito traps and ovitraps. Analysis of pre- and post-treatment data indicated no significant difference in adult mosquito populations detected by BG traps from either the In2Care or CDC-AGO sites. However, the mean number of eggs collected by ovitraps showed significant reduction in both trap type treated areas posttreatment, compared to pre-treatment. Furthermore, the mean number of egg collections from the In2Care mosquito trap treated area was much less than the collection from the CDC-AGO trap treated area post-treatment.

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EFFICACY OF COMMERCIAL ATTRACTIVE TOXIC SUGAR BAIT STATION (ATSB) AGAINST AEDES ALBOPICTUS

Journal of the Florida Mosquito Control Association ◽

10.32473/jfmca.v67i1.127641 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 67 (1) ◽

pp. 80-83

Author(s):

Vindhya S. Aryaprema

Keyword(s):

Sodium Chloride ◽

Aedes Albopictus ◽

Active Ingredient ◽

Field Component ◽

Mosquito Control ◽

Commercial Product ◽

New Paradigm ◽

Significant Evidence ◽

Bait Station ◽

And Control

The use of toxic sugar baits is a new paradigm in mosquito control. A commercial product of attractive toxic sugar bait station (Spartan Mosquito Eradicator) contains a toxic sugar bait with sodium chloride as the active ingredient and yeast as an attractant. We studied the efficacy of the device against adult Aedes albopictus Skuse. The study composed of a laboratory and a field component with treatment and control cohorts. The treatment in the laboratory experiment resulted in nonsignificant mortality of adult mosquitoes compared with untreated mosquitoes. Neither laboratory nor field components of the study showed significant evidence that the commercial product could reduce the abundance of Ae. albopictus in the natural environment. The device may need to be improved and further evaluation conducted.

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Reducing Aedes albopictus breeding sites through education: a study in urban area

10.1101/385872 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

A. Stefopoulou ◽

G. Balatsos ◽

A. Petraki ◽

Shannon L. LaDeau ◽

D. Papachristos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Participation ◽

Urban Area ◽

Aedes Albopictus ◽

Resident Education ◽

Mosquito Control ◽

Educational Interventions ◽

Breeding Habitat ◽

Source Reduction ◽

Breeding Sites ◽

Attitudes And Practices

Aedes albopictus tends to proliferate in small, often man-made bodies of water, largely present in urban private areas. For this reason, education and community participation are considered crucial for source reduction and mosquito control. In the current study, we tried to relate for the first time in Greece, the effectiveness of resident education in an urban area with the number of breeding sites based on previous KAP (knowledge, attitudes and practices) studies. Our study examines the relationship between mosquito breeding sources and socioeconomic or demographic characteristics of different households in a Greek municipality and evaluates efficacy of resident education. The results revealed that only a minority of residents knew where mosquitoes breed (18.6%) and only 46% felt that residents had any responsibility for managing breeding habitat. Our findings strongly suggest that only the presence of scientific staff inspecting possible habitats in their properties, could be enough to stimulate practices towards source reduction. However, educational interventions alone with printed education material cannot enhance significant community participation and source reduction.

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Worldview-2 and Landsat 8 Satellite Data for Seaweed Mapping along Karachi Coast

Pakistan Journal of Engineering Technology & Science ◽

10.22555/pjets.v5i2.920 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Muhammad Danish Siddiqui ◽

Arjumand Z Zaidi

Keyword(s):

Satellite Data ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Economic Value ◽

Vegetation Indices ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Geographical Information ◽

Landsat 8 ◽

Coverage Area ◽

Breeding Sites ◽

Marine Plant

Seaweed is a marine plant or algae which has economic value in many parts of the world. The purpose of this study is to evaluate different satellite sensors such as high-resolution WorldView-2 (WV2) satellite data and Landsat 8 30-meter resolution satellite data for mapping seaweed resources along the coastal waters of Karachi. The continuous monitoring and mapping of this precious marine plant and their breeding sites may not be very efficient and cost effective using traditional survey techniques. Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) can provide economical and more efficient solutions for mapping and monitoring coastal resources quantitatively as well as qualitatively at both temporal and spatial scales. Normalized Difference Vegetation Indices (NDVI) along with the image enhancement techniques were used to delineate seaweed patches in the study area. The coverage area of seaweed estimated with WV-2 and Landsat 8 are presented as GIS maps. A more precise area estimation wasachieved with WV-2 data that shows 15.5Ha (0.155 Km2)of seaweed cover along Karachi coast that is more representative of the field observed data. A much larger area wasestimated with Landsat 8 image (71.28Ha or 0.7128 Km2) that was mainly due to the mixing of seaweed pixels with water pixels. The WV-2 data, due to its better spatial resolution than Landsat 8, have proven to be more useful than Landsat 8 in mapping seaweed patches

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Entomological survey for identification of Aedes larval breeding sites and their distribution in Chattogram, Bangladesh

Beni-Suef University Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences ◽

10.1186/s43088-021-00122-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Md. Sahidur Rahman ◽

Md. Omar Faruk ◽

Sumiya Tanjila ◽

Nur Mohammad Sabbir ◽

Najmul Haider ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Logistic Regression ◽

Field Survey ◽

Mosquito Control ◽

Multiple Logistic Regression Analysis ◽

Binary Logistic Regression ◽

Breeding Sites ◽

Entomological Survey ◽

Different Types ◽

Coconut Shells ◽

Positive Properties

Abstract Background Studying the characteristics of Aedes mosquito habitats is essential to control the mosquito population. The objective of this study was to identify the breeding sites of Aedes larvae and their distribution in Chattogram, Bangladesh. We conducted an entomological survey in 12 different sub-districts (Thana) under Chattogram City, during the late monsoon (August to November) 2019. The presence of different wet containers along with their characteristics and immature mosquitoes was recorded in field survey data form. Larvae and/or pupae were collected and brought to the laboratory for identification. Results Different indices like house index, container index, and the Breteau index were estimated. The multiple logistic regression analysis was applied to identify habitats that were more likely to be positive for Aedes larvae/pupae. A total of 704 wet containers of 37 different types from 216 properties were examined, where 52 (7.39%) were positive for Aedes larvae or pupae. Tire, plastic buckets, plastic drums, and coconut shells were the most prevalent container types. The plastic group possessed the highest container productivity (50%) whereas the vehicle and machinery group was found as most efficient (1.83) in terms of immature Aedes production. Among the total positive properties, 8% were infested with Aedes aegypti, 2% with Aedes albopictus, and 1% contained both species Ae. aegypti and A. albopictus. The overall house index was 17.35%, the container index was 7%, and the Breteau index was 24.49. Containers in multistoried houses had significantly lower positivity compared to independent houses. Binary logistic regression represented that containers having shade were 6.7 times more likely to be positive than the containers without shade (p< 0.01). Conclusions These findings might assist the authorities to identify the properties, containers, and geographical areas with different degrees of risk for mosquito control interventions to prevent dengue and other Aedes-borne disease transmissions.

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Recent Advances in Conventional Methods and Electrochemical Aptasensors for Mycotoxin Detection

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods10071437 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 1437

Author(s):

Jing Yi Ong ◽

Andrew Pike ◽

Ling Ling Tan

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Analysis ◽

Animal Feed ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Preventive Action ◽

High Affinity ◽

Recent Advances ◽

Recognition Elements ◽

Key Features ◽

Pre Treatment ◽

And Performance

The presence of mycotoxins in foodstuffs and feedstuffs is a serious concern for human health. The detection of mycotoxins is therefore necessary as a preventive action to avoid the harmful contamination of foodstuffs and animal feed. In comparison with the considerable expense of treating contaminated foodstuffs, early detection is a cost-effective way to ensure food safety. The high affinity of bio-recognition molecules to mycotoxins has led to the development of affinity columns for sample pre-treatment and the development of biosensors for the quantitative analysis of mycotoxins. Aptamers are a very attractive class of biological receptors that are currently in great demand for the development of new biosensors. In this review, the improvement in the materials and methodology, and the working principles and performance of both conventional and recently developed methods are discussed. The key features and applications of the fundamental recognition elements, such as antibodies and aptamers are addressed. Recent advances in aptasensors that are based on different electrochemical (EC) transducers are reviewed in detail, especially from the perspective of the diagnostic mechanism; in addition, a brief introduction of some commercially available mycotoxin detection kits is provided.

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Utilising Commercially Fabricated Printed Circuit Boards as an Electrochemical Biosensing Platform

Micromachines ◽

10.3390/mi12070793 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 793

Author(s):

Uroš Zupančič ◽

Joshua Rainbow ◽

Pedro Estrela ◽

Despina Moschou

Keyword(s):

Printed Circuit Boards ◽

Electrochemical Sensors ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Electrochemical Sensing ◽

Label Free ◽

Circuit Boards ◽

Printed Circuit ◽

Sensing Applications ◽

Electrochemical Biosensing ◽

Pre Treatment

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) offer a promising platform for the development of electronics-assisted biomedical diagnostic sensors and microsystems. The long-standing industrial basis offers distinctive advantages for cost-effective, reproducible, and easily integrated sample-in-answer-out diagnostic microsystems. Nonetheless, the commercial techniques used in the fabrication of PCBs produce various contaminants potentially degrading severely their stability and repeatability in electrochemical sensing applications. Herein, we analyse for the first time such critical technological considerations, allowing the exploitation of commercial PCB platforms as reliable electrochemical sensing platforms. The presented electrochemical and physical characterisation data reveal clear evidence of both organic and inorganic sensing electrode surface contaminants, which can be removed using various pre-cleaning techniques. We demonstrate that, following such pre-treatment rules, PCB-based electrodes can be reliably fabricated for sensitive electrochemical biosensors. Herein, we demonstrate the applicability of the methodology both for labelled protein (procalcitonin) and label-free nucleic acid (E. coli-specific DNA) biomarker quantification, with observed limits of detection (LoD) of 2 pM and 110 pM, respectively. The proposed optimisation of surface pre-treatment is critical in the development of robust and sensitive PCB-based electrochemical sensors for both clinical and environmental diagnostics and monitoring applications.

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Anaerobic digestion for sustainable development: a natural approach

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2002.0364 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 45 (10) ◽

pp. 321-328 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

H.J. Gijzen

Keyword(s):

Industrial Wastewater ◽

Systems Approach ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Anaerobic Treatment ◽

High Rate ◽

Natural Ecosystems ◽

Natural Systems ◽

Anaerobic Reactors ◽

Rural And Urban ◽

Pre Treatment

After the discovery of methane gas by Alessandro Volta in 1776, it took about 100 years before anaerobic processes for the treatment of wastewater and sludges were introduced. The development of high rate anaerobic digesters for the treatment of sewage and industrial wastewater took until the nineteen-seventies and for solid waste even till the nineteen-eighties. All digesters have in common that they apply natural anaerobic consortia of microorganisms for degradation and transformation processes. In view of this, it could be rewarding to evaluate the efficiency of natural ecosystems for their possible application. Examples of high rate anaerobic natural systems include the forestomach of ruminants and the hindgut of certain insects, such as termites and cockroaches. These “natural reactors” exhibit volumetric methane production rates as high as 35 l/l.d. The development of anaerobic reactors based on such natural anaerobic systems could produce eco-technologies for the effective management of a wide variety of solid wastes and industrial wastewater. Important limitations of anaerobic treatment of domestic sewage relate to the absence of nutrient and pathogen removal. A combination of anaerobic pre-treatment followed by photosynthetic post-treatment is proposed for the effective recovery of energy and nutrients from sewage. This eco-technology approach is based on the recognition that the main nutrient assimilating capacity is housed in photosynthetic plants. The proposed anaerobic-photosynthetic process is energy efficient, cost effective and applicable under a wide variety of rural and urban conditions. In conclusion: a natural systems approach towards waste management could generate affordable eco-technologies for effective treatment and resource recovery.

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The distribution of Culex mosquitoes in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

Journal of Entomological and Acarological Research ◽

10.4081/jear.2015.4565 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 47 (1) ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

A. Naresh Kumar ◽

K. Murugan ◽

C. Thomas Vincent ◽

P. Madhiyazhagan ◽

T. Nataraj ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tamil Nadu ◽

Mosquito Control ◽

Lymphatic Vessels ◽

Wuchereria Bancrofti ◽

Severe Damage ◽

Breeding Sites ◽

Ecological Changes ◽

Mapping System ◽

Coimbatore District ◽

Vector Distribution

Lymphatic filariasis is an infection with the filarial worms, Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi and B. timori. These parasites are transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected Culex mosquito and develop into adult worms in the lymphatic vessels, causing severe damage and swelling (lymphoedema). Mosquito control, in view of their medical as well as economical importance, assumes global importance. Geographic information system (GIS) is a powerful tool to analyse the distribution of mosquitoes and their relationship to different environmental factors, and can substantially improve our ability to quantify the impacts of demographic, climatic and ecological changes in vector distribution. In the present study Culex quinquefasciatus, Culex tritaeniorhynchus and Culex gelidus were recorded in the study area. Few other factors such as larval mosquito density, number of breeding sites, human population, etc. were also analysed for its impact on the distribution of Culex mosquitoes. Distribution of Culex in the present study affirmed that C. quinquefasciatus is predominant in the entire focal area, which explains the behavioural response and capability of the species in varied zones. Information gathered from this study is being used to construct a GIS-based mapping system for distribution of Culex mosquitoes in the Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, India.

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