KCNJ8/ABCC9-containing K-ATP channel modulates brain vascular smooth muscle development and neurovascular coupling

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Diversity of Anopheles species and trophic behavior of putative malaria vectors in two malaria endemic areas of northwestern Thailand

We determined the species diversity, blood‐feeding behavior, and host preference of Anopheles mosquitoes in two malaria endemic areas of Tak (Mae Sot District) and Mae Hong Son (Sop Moei District) Provinces, located along the Thai border with Myanmar, during a consecutive two‐year period. Anopheline mosquitoes were collected using indoor and outdoor human‐landing captures and outdoor cow‐baited collections. Mosquitoes were initially identified using morphological characters, followed by the appropriate multiplex AS‐PCR assay for the identification of sibling species within Anopheles (Cellia) complexes and groups present. Real‐time PCR was performed for parasite‐specific detection in mosquitoes (Plasmodium spp. and Wuchereria bancrofti). A total of 7,129 Anopheles females were captured, 3,939 from Mae Sot and 3,190 from Sop Moei, with 58.6% and 37% of all anophelines identified as An. minimus, respectively. All three malaria vector complexes were detected in both areas. One species within the Minimus Complex (An. minimus) was present along with two related species in the Funestus Group, (An. aconitus, An. varuna), two species within the Dirus Complex (An. dirus, An. baimaii), and four species within the Maculatus Group (An. maculatus, An. sawadwongporni, An. pseudowillmori, and An. dravidicus). The trophic behavior of An. minimus, An. dirus, An. baimaii, An. maculatus, and An. sawadwongporni are described herein. The highest An. minimus densities were detected from February through April of both years. One specimen of An. minimus from Mae Sot was found positive for Plasmodium vivax.     

Plasmodium berghei: inhibition by splenectomy of a paralyzing syndrome in infected rats

In recent attempts to isolate the factor causing paralysis in rats infected with a mousepassed KBG 173 strain of Plasmodium berghei Splenectomy was employed. The effects of Splenectomy on the paralyzing syndrome are discussed in the present report. Paralysis was inhibited in rats splenectomized prior to inoculation. Serial bloodpassaging of the strain in the splenectomized host however, apparently enhanced its virulence. Spleen-intact rats used as controls exhibited a marked increase in incidence of paralysis. Rats splenectomized a day before paralysis became evident were paralyzed significantly more frequently than those splenectomized a day earlier, indicating the apparent requirement of an incubation period for the expression of the paralytic effect. The enhanced virulence did not appear to be related to the level of parasitemia of the splenectomized rats used as donors. The spleen appears to provide the optimal conditions required for the elaboration of the paralyzing factor.     

Village trial of bednets impregnated with wash-resistant permethrin compared with other pyrethroid formulations

Abstract. A village-scale field trial of pyrethroid-impregnated mosquito nets was undertaken in The Gambia, West Africa, in the Mandinka village of Saruja (13^o13'N, 14^o55'W) during July-November 1989. Nearly all the villagers possessed and used their own bednets. Anopheles gambiae is the main vector of human malaria in the area.
An experimental wash-resistant formulation of permethrin was compared with standard emulsifiable concentrate (EC) formulations of permethrin and lambda-cyhalothrin, versus placebo-treated bednets. Target concentrations of pyrethroids on bednets were permethrin 500mg/m² and lambda-cyhalothrin 25 mg/m². The experimental design involved random allocation of a treatment to one net per family. Whereas 68% of people questioned said they washed their nets fortnightly, observations during the 16-week trial period showed that only 4/130 (3%) of nets involved in the trial had been washed as frequently as once per month.
Early morning searches for mosquitoes under bednets (1 day/week for 16 weeks) found significantly more mosquitoes (60% An. gambiae ) in placebo-treated nets than in pyrethroid-treated nets. The numbers found with each of the three pyrethroid treatments did not differ significantly from each other. Insecticidal efficacy of the treatments was tested by bioassays using wild-caught unfed mosquitoes exposed to netting for 3min. Linear regression analysis of bioassay mortality against number of times that a net had been washed by villagers showed that nets impregnated with the wash-resistant permethrin retained their insecticidal properties better than nets impregnated with lambda-cyhalothrin or with the standard permethrin formulation.     

Malaria-induced reduction of fecundity during the first gonotrophic cycle of Anopheles Stephensi mosquitoes

Abstract. Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes which had fed upon mice infected with Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis malaria parasites produced significantly fewer eggs than mosquitoes fed on an uninfected mouse. Fecundity reduction was more pronounced when the bloodmeal contained malaria gametocytes and the mosquitoes developed oocysts. Egg production and haematin excretion were correlated for uninfected bloodfed mosquitoes; the presence of P.y. nigeriensis in the blood affected this relationship. Reduced fecundity was associated with a significant reduction of bloodmeal size (measured by haematin excretion) in mosquitoes which ingested gametocytaemic blood. The bloodmeal size in mosquitoes fed on parasitaemic blood without gametocytes was not significantly reduced. The use of haematin assays for determination of bloodmeal size in mosquitoes is discussed.     

Low-volume application by mist-blower compared with conventional compression sprayer treatment of houses with residual pyrethroid to control the malaria vector Anopheles albimanus in Mexico

Abstract. Village-scale trials were carried out in southern Mexico to compare the efficacy of indoor-spraying of the pyrethroid insecticide lambda-cyhalothrin applied either as low-volume (LV) aqueous emulsion or as wettable-powder (WP) aqueous suspension for residual control of the principal coastal malaria vector Anopheles albimanus. Three indoor spray rounds were conducted at 3-month intervals using back-pack mist-blowers to apply lambda-cyhalothrin 12.5 mg a.i./m² by LV, whereas the WP was applied by conventional compression sprayer at a mean rate of 26.5 mg a.i./m².
Both treatments caused mosquito mortality indoors and outdoors (collected inside house curtains) as a result of contact with treated surfaces before and after feeding, but had no significant impact on overall population density of An. albimanus resting indoors or assessed by human bait collections. Contact bioassays showed that WP and LV treatments with lambda-cyhalothrin were effective for 12–20 weeks (>75% mortality) without causing excito-repellency.
Compared to the WP treatment (8 houses/man/day), LV treatment (25 houses/man/day) was more than 3 times quicker per house, potentially saving 68% of labour costs. This is offset, however, by the much lower unit price of a compression sprayer (e.g. Hudson 'X-pert' at US120) than a mist-blower (e.g. 'Super Jolly' at US350), and higher running costs for LV applications. It was calculated, therefore, that LV becomes more economical than WP after 18.8 treatments/100 houses/10 men at equivalent rates of application, or after 7.6 spray rounds with half-rate LV applications.     

The effect of simulated acid rain on performance of the aphid Euceraphis betulae (Koch) on silver birch

Summary The effect of artificial acid rain on the reproduction and survival of the aphid Euceraphis betulae on silver birch was studied in Turku, southern Finland. Eight bioassays were done during 1984–1986. In four of the bioassays the aphids produced 40% to over 100% more progeny on birches watered with dilute sulphuric acid (pH 3.5) than on control trees. In four other cases the performance of aphids did not differ between the treatments. An index of aphid reproduction pooled over the whole study was significantly higher on acid-treated than on control birches. The reproduction of aphids on acid-treated birches was enhanced when precipitation was below long term average, suggesting an interaction between the stress caused by acid treatment and dry periods.     

Isolation and culture of cells derived from human cerebral microvessels

Summary Microvessels were isolated from non-neoplastic human cerebral cortical fragments resected for treatment of intractable seizure disorder. The microvessels were incubated in modified Lewis medium with 20 or 30% fetal bovine serum. Within 1–2 weeks, two cell populations emerged from the isolates. One type of cells had polygonal morphology, showed density-dependent contact inhibition at confluence in vitro, showed lectin-binding characteristics of endothelium (but only moderate positivity for factor VIII antigen), demonstrated induction of -glutamyl trans-peptidase when exposed to astrocyte-conditioned media, and responded to insulin by a pronounced increase in DNA synthesis. The other variety of cells grew in vitro more slowly in irregular strands separated by clear zones, showed ultrastructural features of smooth muscle, and isoelectric focusing of cell proteins revealed the presence of smooth-musclespecific -isoactin. Both types of cells could be serially subcultured. The ability to isolate and grow the two cell types, tentatively identified as human cerebral microvascular endothelium and smooth muscle, may facilitate studies of human blood-brain barrier function as well as the pathogenesis of cerebral microangiopathies unique to the human brain.Funded by Canadian Heart Foundation, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario and UCLA Biomedical Research Support Grant