Contact Toxicity of Insecticides and Biopesticides to Trichogramma Chilonis Ishii. (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) under Laboratory Condition

Integration of insecticides and biological controls is an important tactic of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Trichogramma chilonis is a promising natural enemy of many lepidopteran insect pests. However, this hymenopteran egg parasitoid is adversely affected by most insecticides. Contact toxicity of nineteen insecticides and three biopesticides on adults of T. chilonis was investigated by using dry film residue bioassays under laboratory conditions. Profenofos and chlorpyrifos were highly lethal to the adults even at sublethal doses followed by dimethoate, spinosad, indoxacarb and acephate + imidacloprid. Diafenthiuron, nimbecidine and flubendiamide were categorised as less toxic. The biopesticides viz., Metarhizium anisopliae, Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium rileyi were found innocuous to T. chilonis. The studysuggests that the insecticides with less toxicity and biopesticides with apparently no harmful effects on the parasitoid can be used in conjunction with parasitoids in IPM programmes. This will also advice the plant protectionists in avoiding the one with detrimental effects on this hymenopteran wasp with appropriate timing of application that controls the pests without adversely affecting their natural enemies

Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose as a film and hydrogel carrier for ACP nanoprecursors to deliver biomimetic mineralization

Demineralization of hard tooth tissues leads to dental caries, which cause health problems and economic burdens throughout the world. A biomimetic mineralization strategy is expected to reverse early dental caries. Commercially available anti-carious mineralizing products lead to inconclusive clinical results because they cannot continuously replenish the required calcium and phosphate resources. Herein, we prepared a mineralizing film consisting of hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) and polyaspartic acid-stabilized amorphous calcium phosphate (PAsp-ACP) nanoparticles. HPMC which contains multiple hydroxyl groups is a film-forming material that can be desiccated to form a dry film. In a moist environment, this film gradually changes into a gel. HPMC was used as the carrier of PAsp-ACP nanoparticles to deliver biomimetic mineralization. Our results indicated that the hydroxyl and methoxyl groups of HPMC could assist the stability of PAsp-ACP nanoparticles and maintain their biomimetic mineralization activity. The results further demonstrated that the bioinspired mineralizing film induced the early mineralization of demineralized dentin after 24 h with increasing mineralization of the whole demineralized dentin (3–4 µm) after 72–96 h. Furthermore, these results were achieved without any cytotoxicity or mucosa irritation. Therefore, this mineralizing film shows promise for use in preventive dentistry due to its efficient mineralization capability. Graphical Abstract

Towards Green 3D-Microfabrication of Bio-MEMS Devices Using ADEX Dry Film Photoresists

Current trends in miniaturized diagnostics indicate an increasing demand for large quantities of mobile devices for health monitoring and point-of-care diagnostics. This comes along with a need for rapid but preferably also green microfabrication. Dry film photoresists (DFPs) promise low-cost and greener microfabrication and can partly or fully replace conventional silicon-technologies being associated with high-energy demands and the intense use of toxic and climate-active chemicals. Due to their mechanical stability and superior film thickness homogeneity, DFPs outperform conventional spin-on photoresists, such as SU-8, especially when three-dimensional architectures are required for micro-analytical devices (e.g. microfluidics). In this study, we utilize the commercial epoxy-based DFP ADEX to demonstrate various application scenarios ranging from the direct modification of microcantilever beams via the assembly of microfluidic channels to lamination-free patterning of DFPs, which employs the DFP directly as a substrate material. Finally, kinked, bottom-up grown silicon nanowires were integrated in this manner as prospective ion-sensitive field-effect transistors in a bio-probe architecture directly on ADEX substrates. Hence, we have developed the required set of microfabrication protocols for such an assembly comprising metal thin film deposition, direct burn-in of lithography alignment markers, and polymer patterning on top of the DFP.

Critical Solutal Marangoni Number Correlation for Short-Scale Convective Instabilities in Drying Poly(vinyl acetate)-Methanol Thin Films

A new empiric correlation for the critical solutal Marangoni number as function of the Péclet and Schmidt numbers is proposed. It is based on previously published experimental flow field data in drying poly(vinyl acetate)-methanol films with an initial thickness in the range of – and an initial solvent load of to , as well as newly derived concentration profile measurements and 1D drying simulations. The analysis accounts for realistic transient material properties and describes the occurrence of short-scale convective Marangoni (in)stabilities during the entire drying process with an accuracy of 9%. In addition, the proposed correlation qualitatively follows trends known from theory. As convective Marangoni instabilities in drying polymer films may induce surface deformations, which persist in the dry film, the correlation may facilitate future process design for either thin films with uniform thickness or deliberate self-assembly.

Exploring Dry-Film FTIR Spectroscopy to Characterize Milk Composition and Subclinical Ketosis throughout a Cow’s Lactation

The use of technologies for measurements of health parameters of individual cows may ensure early detection of diseases and maximization of individual cow and herd potential. In the present study, dry-film Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was evaluated for the purpose of detecting and quantifying milk components during cows’ lactation. This was done in order to investigate if these systematic changes can be used to identify cows experiencing subclinical ketosis. The data included 2329 milk samples from 61 Norwegian Red dairy cows collected during the first 100 days in milk (DIM). The resulting FTIR spectra were used for explorative analyses of the milk composition. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to search for systematic changes in the milk during the lactation. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to predict the fatty acid (FA) composition of all milk samples and the models obtained were used to evaluate systematic changes in the predicted FA composition during the lactation. The results reveal that systematic changes related to both gross milk composition and fatty acid features can be seen throughout lactation. Differences in the predicted FA composition between cows with subclinical ketosis and normal cows, in particular C14:0 and C18:1cis9, showed that dietary energy deficits may be detected by deviations in distinct fatty acid features.

A Novel Mineralizing film Induces Biomimetic Mineralization

Demineralization of tooth hard tissues leads to dental caries, which causes health problem and economic burden throughout the world. Biomimetic mineralization strategy is expected to reverse initial dental caries. Commercially available mineralizing anti-carious products lead to indefinite clinical results because they could not continuously replenish calcium and phosphate resources. Herein, we prepared a novel mineralizing film (NMF) consisting of hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) and polyaspartic acid-stabilized amorphous calcium phosphate (PAsp-ACP) nanoparticles. HPMC containing multiple hydroxyls is a gel-forming material that could be either desiccated to be a dry film or gradually changed into gel in moist milieu. The HPMC was, for the first time, used as a carrier of PAsp-ACP nanoparticles for delivering biomimetic mineralization in moist milieu. Our results indicated the hydroxyls and methoxyls of HPMC could assist the stability of PAsp-ACP nanoparticles and maintain their bioactivity of mineralization. The results further demonstrated that the NMF bioinspired the early mineralization of demineralized dentin at 24 hrs and the heavy mineralization of the whole demineralized dentin (3-4 µm) at 72-96 hrs without any cytotoxicity and mucosa irritation. Therefore, the NMF might be promising mineralizing strategy for preventive dentistry with efficient mineralization capability.

Design, Development and Evaluation of Silk Based Film Forming Spray for Wound Healing

The objective of the present study is to formulate and evaluate Silk based film forming spray for wound healing. On the wound surface the solution solidifies into a film which can deliver the active moiety on site of action. The spray solution was prepared by simple mixing of active extract of Centella Asiatica, Silk Protein and various film forming polymers. Silk protein form scaffold for active fibroblast movement and Asiaticosides from Centella Asiatica extract improve and fasten collagen synthesis. A clear yellowish solution was obtained. The formulations (F1-F8) had a pH range between 5.5–6.5, which was close to the pH of skin. The viscosity of formulation in range of 25–50 cps, completely dry film formed within 5 min in open environment. The Effects of polymers, plasticizers and solvents on spreadability. Surface tension and Spray angle were studied. The high content of ethanol in the formulation fastens the drying time. The results indicated that formulation (F8) showed good spreadability and less drying time. Keywords: Film forming spray, Wound healing, Silk protein, Asiaticoside, Scaffold