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Z Rheumatol 2021 Apr 27. Epub 2021 Apr 27.

Abteilung für Pädiatrische Infektiologie und Rheumatologie, Klinik für Allgemeine Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Freiburg, Mathildenstr. 1, 79106, Freiburg, Deutschland.

Due to the underlying disease and immunosuppressive treatment, pediatric patients with rheumatic diseases are at increased risk for (long distance) travel-related health problems. A pretravel comprehensive consultation is therefore strongly recommended. Whether a child with rheumatic disease is sufficiently fit for travel essentially depends on the disease activity, the age of the child and the intended travel destination. Read More

J Gen Virol 2021 04;102(4)

Chemical, Biological and Radiological Division, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), Porton Down, Wiltshire, SP4 0JQ, UK.

A small-scale study with Mosi-guard Natural spray, an insect repellent containing Citriodiol, was performed to determine if it has virucidal activity against SARS-CoV-2. A liquid test examined the activity of the insect repellent and the individual components for virucidal activity. A surface contact test looked at the activity of the insect repellent when impregnated on a latex surface as a synthetic skin for potential topical prophylactic application. Read More

Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 2021 Apr 18:104928. Epub 2021 Apr 18.

Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Yoshida Konoe, Sakyo, Kyoto, 6068501, Japan. Electronic address:

Pestic Biochem Physiol 2021 May 25;174:104804. Epub 2021 Feb 25.

Division of Germplasm Conservation and Utilization, ICAR - National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Bengaluru 560024, India.

Housefly, Musca domestica L. is a pest of public health importance and is responsible for spreading diseases like typhoid, diarrhoea, plague etc. Indiscriminate reliance on synthetic insecticides has led to development of insecticide resistance and ill effect to humans and nontarget animals. Read More

J Ethnopharmacol 2021 Apr 3;275:114075. Epub 2021 Apr 3.

Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, China. Electronic address:

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The strongly scented genus Adenosma R. Brown (Plantaginaceae) comprises between 26 and 29 species with mainly southeast Asian distributions. Several species are used traditionally, mostly in Asian countries, for medicinal purposes including the treatment of colds and tumors, as well as stomach, liver, and skin disorders. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 03 18;18(6). Epub 2021 Mar 18.

US 1371 Laboratory of Excellence ARBRE, INRAE, Centre INRAE Grand Est-Nancy, F-54280 Champenoux, France.

Mass-participation events in temperate forests are now well-established features of outdoor activities and represent high-risk activities regarding human exposition to tick bites. In this study we used a citizen science approach to quantify the space-time frequency of tick bites and undetected tick bites among orienteers that participated in a 6-day orienteering competition that took place in July 2018 in the forests of Eastern France, and we looked at the use and efficacy of different preventive behaviors. Our study confirms that orienteers are a high-risk population for tick bites, with 62. Read More

Pharmaceutics 2021 Mar 18;13(3). Epub 2021 Mar 18.

Reading School of Pharmacy, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AD, UK.

Background: We developed a novel polymer insect repellent conjugate for extended release and decreased skin permeation of the volatile insect repellent p-menthane-3,8-diol (PMD).

Methods: PMD was conjugated with acryloyl chloride via an ester bond to form acryloyl-PMD, which was subsequently copolymerised with acrylic acid at varying molar ratios. Copolymer structures were characterised by H NMR and FT-IR, analysed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), molecular weights and reactivity ratios determined, and repellent loading assessed. Read More

J Med Entomol 2021 Mar 26. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

Applied Zoology and Animal Conservation Research Group, UIB, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

European guidelines for testing attractant and repellent efficacy (i.e., Product type 19 [PT19]) have been in revision since 2017. Read More

Arch Insect Biochem Physiol 2021 Apr 15;106(4):e21772. Epub 2021 Mar 15.

National Engineering Research Center of Sugarcane, Fujian Agricultural and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China.

The β-adrenergic-like octopamine receptor (OA2B2), which binds the biogenic amine octopamine, belongs to the class of G-protein coupled receptors and significantly regulates many physiological and behavioral processes in insects. In this study, the putative open reading frame sequence of the MsOA2B2 gene in Mythimna separata was cloned, the full-length complementary DNA was 1191 bp and it encoded a 396-amino acid protein (GenBank accession number MN822800). Orthologous sequence alignment, phylogenetic tree analysis, and protein sequence analysis all showed that the cloned receptor belongs to the OA2B2 protein family. Read More

Mar Pollut Bull 2021 May 9;166:112222. Epub 2021 Mar 9.

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericulture Biology and Biotechnology, College of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212003, PR China. Electronic address:

A marine diatom (Phaeodactylum tricornutum) was exposed to different concentrations of dimethyl phthalate (DMP) and diethyl phthalate (DEP) for 96 h within a batch-culture system to investigate their toxicities. Results showed that P. tricornutum could remove DMP and DEP effectively with removal rates of 0. Read More

Curr Biol 2021 Feb 25. Epub 2021 Feb 25.

Department of Biology, Lund University, 22362 Lund, Sweden. Electronic address:

Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is a common garden herb well known for its euphoric and hallucinogenic effects on domestic cats, for its medicinal properties, as well as for its powerful repellent action on insects. Catnip extracts have been proposed as a natural alternative to synthetic insect repellents, such as N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET), but how catnip triggers aversion in insects is not known. Here, we show that, both in Drosophila melanogaster flies and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the major mediator of catnip repellency is the widely conserved chemical irritant receptor TRPA1. Read More

Hortic Res 2021 Mar 1;8(1):53. Epub 2021 Mar 1.

Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Beijing Botanical Garden, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, 100093, Beijing, China.

The aromatic shrub Lavandula angustifolia produces various volatile terpenoids that serve as resources for essential oils and function in plant-insect communication. To better understand the genetic basis of the terpenoid diversity in lavender, we present a high-quality reference genome for the Chinese lavender cultivar "Jingxun 2" using PacBio and Hi-C technologies to anchor the 894.50 Mb genome assembly into 27 pseudochromosomes. Read More

Interface Focus 2021 Apr 12;11(2):20200043. Epub 2021 Feb 12.

Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.

Many insects can detect carbon dioxide (CO) plumes using a conserved receptor made up of members of the gustatory receptor (Gr) family Gr1, Gr2 and Gr3. Mosquitoes are attracted to host animals for blood meals using plumes of CO in the exhaled breath using the receptor expressed in the A neuron of the capitate peg sensilla type on the maxillary palps. The receptor is known to also detect several other classes of odorants, including ones emitted from human skin. Read More

J Korean Med Sci 2021 Feb 22;36(7):e49. Epub 2021 Feb 22.

Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, Korea.

Background: The risk of tick-borne diseases is decreased by increasing awareness and knowledge through prevention education. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of long-lasting permethrin impregnated (LLPI) socks for tick bites.

Methods: A randomized open label study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of LLPI socks for prevention of tick bites among 367 adults living in a rural area. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2021 Apr 20;28(15):18918-18940. Epub 2021 Feb 20.

Laboratory of Herbal Pesticides, Centre of Advanced Study (CAS) in Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India.

The control of storage insect pests is largely based on synthetic pesticides. However, due to fast growing resistance in the targeted insects, negative impact on humans and non-target organisms as well as the environment, there is an urgent need to search some safer alternatives of these xenobiotics. Many essential oils (EOs) and their bioactive compounds have received particular attention for application as botanical pesticides, since they exhibited high insecticidal efficacy, diverse mode of action, and favourable safety profiles on mammalian system as well as to the non-target organisms. Read More

Chemosphere 2021 Jun 10;272:129923. Epub 2021 Feb 10.

Department of Food Quality & Safety, Institute for Postharvest and Food Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Rishon LeZiyyon, 7505101, Israel. Electronic address:

Although amitraz is one of the acaricides most commonly applied within beehives, to date, its time-dependent oral toxicity in honeybees has not been investigated, due to amitraz's instability in aqueous media. In aqueous media such as honey, amitraz rapidly forms a continuously changing tertiary mixture with two of its major hydrolysis products, DMF and DMPF. The contribution of each hydrolysis product to the overall oral toxicity of this acaricide is not known. Read More

Exp Appl Acarol 2021 Mar 16;83(3):399-409. Epub 2021 Feb 16.

Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kagoshima University, Korimoto, Kagoshima, 890-0065, Japan.

Tick infestations and tick-borne diseases are among the leading causes of economic losses in the cattle industry worldwide. Amitraz is one of the most commonly used chemical acaricides against the cattle tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. Resistance to amitraz has been reported in many countries but not in the Philippines. Read More

Exp Appl Acarol 2021 Mar 15;83(3):411-426. Epub 2021 Feb 15.

School of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Wushan Road 381, Guangzhou, 510641, Guangdong Province, China.

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the acaricidal activity of Senecio cannabifolius essential oil, and two of its constituents, eucalyptol and camphor. Efficacy against females and larvae of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus was assessed by the adult immersion test (AIT) and the larval immersion test (LIT). The oil was analyzed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and GC-mass spectrometry (MS) and in total 68 components were identified representing 99. Read More

Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2021 Mar 10;105(5):1875-1887. Epub 2021 Feb 10.

School of Life Science, Northeast Agricultural University, No. 59 Mucai Street, Xiangfang District, Harbin, 150030, China.

Milbemycins are used commercially as insect repellents and acaricides; however, their high cost remains a significant challenge to commercial production. Hence, improving the titer of milbemycins for commercial application is an urgent priority. The present study aimed to effectively increase the titer of milbemycins using a combination of genome re-sequencing and metabolic engineering. Read More

Insect Biochem Mol Biol 2021 Apr 4;131:103550. Epub 2021 Feb 4.

Department of Bio & Fermentation Convergence Technology, Kookmin University, Seoul, 02707, Republic of Korea; Interdisciplinary Program for Bio-Health Convergence, Kookmin University, Seoul, 02707, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

DEET is the most widely used active ingredient in insect repellents and offers protection against insect bites. We previously reported that DEET suppresses the feeding behavior of Drosophila, which is guided by gustatory receptors (GRs) in bitter-sensing gustatory receptor neurons. Here, we sought to identify new candidates using egg-laying assays. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2021 Jan 20;14(1):64. Epub 2021 Jan 20.

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, 4051, Basel, Switzerland.

Background: Semi-field experiments with human landing catch (HLC) measure as the outcome are an important step in the development of novel vector control interventions against outdoor transmission of malaria since they provide good estimates of personal protection. However, it is often infeasible to determine whether the reduction in HLC counts is due to mosquito mortality or repellency, especially considering that spatial repellents based on volatile pyrethroids might induce both. Due to the vastly different impact of repellency and mortality on transmission, the community-level impact of spatial repellents can not be estimated from such semi-field experiments. Read More

PLoS One 2021 19;16(1):e0245324. Epub 2021 Jan 19.

National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), TIFR, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.

Insect Olfactory Receptors (ORs) are diverse family of membrane protein receptors responsible for most of the insect olfactory perception and communication, and hence they are of utmost importance for developing repellents or pesticides. Accurate gene prediction of insect ORs from newly sequenced genomes is an important but challenging task. We have developed a dedicated webserver, 'insectOR', to predict and validate insect OR genes using multiple gene prediction algorithms, accompanied by relevant validations. Read More

J Med Entomol 2021 Jan 18. Epub 2021 Jan 18.

Applied Zoology and Animal Conservation Research Group, UIB, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Vector-borne diseases are a worldwide threat to human health. Often, no vaccines or treatments exist. Thus, personal protection products play an essential role in limiting transmission. Read More

Pest Manag Sci 2021 Jan 14. Epub 2021 Jan 14.

Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.

Background: Insects rely on their sense of smell to locate food and hosts, find mates and select sites for laying eggs. Use of volatile compounds, such as essential oils (EOs), to repel insect pests and disrupt their olfaction-driven behaviors has great practical significance in integrated pest management. However, our knowledge on the olfaction-based mechanisms of EO repellency is quite limited. Read More

J Econ Entomol 2021 02;114(1):265-273

German Environment Agency, Berlin, Germany.

Bed bug repellents should not only prevent humans from being bitten but impede an infestation of personal belongings. Only a few test proposals for evaluating the efficacy of repellents against bed bugs have been published so far. In the present study, two test systems were assessed for efficacy testing with five potential bed bug repellents (cinnamon oil, icaridin, N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET), permethrin, and margosa extract). Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Jan 8;11(1):153. Epub 2021 Jan 8.

Faculty of Bioengineering and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Jeli Campus, 17600, Jeli, Kelantan, Malaysia.

The use of chemical insecticides has had many adverse effects. This study reports a novel perspective on the application of insect-based compounds to repel and eradicate other insects in a controlled environment. In this work, defense fluid was shown to be a repellent and insecticide against termites and cockroaches and was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Read More

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2021 Mar 4;210:111877. Epub 2021 Jan 4.

Food Protectants and Infestation Control Department, CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore 570020, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India. Electronic address:

Fumigant toxicity of phytochemical volatiles has been widely reported against stored product insect pests. Such volatiles are considered as natural fumigants and bio-fumigants in post-harvest food protection research. In the present study, persistence and ingestion of diallyl disulfide, citral, eucalyptol, eugenol and menthol were investigated in Sitophilus oryzae adults in comparison with fumigant toxicity and microstructural impact in elytra. Read More

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2021 Jan 20;208:111597. Epub 2020 Nov 20.

Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory for Biology of Vegetable Diseases and Insect Pests, Shandong Agricultural University, 61 Daizong Street, Tai'an, Shandong 271018, People's Republic of China; College of Plant Protection, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong 271018, People's Republic of China. Electronic address:

Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) is an important pest of stored grain, and benzoquinones secreted by this pest are harmful to humans. T. castaneum has developed strong resistance to fumigants, and an ecofriendly alternative for managing T. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2021 Apr 4;28(15):19310-19324. Epub 2021 Jan 4.

Osaka Institute of Public Health, 1-3-69, Nakamichi, Higashinari-ku, Osaka, 537-0025, Japan.

Several synthetic pyrethroids are suspected to have carcinogenicity or reproductive toxicity. However, there is little knowledge about indoor air pollution in residences or the extent of intake by the residents of the newly developed pyrethroids, transfluthrin, profluthrin, and metofluthrin, although they have been widely used indoors as mosquito repellents and mothproof repellents in recent years. In the present study, the household exposure to pyrethroids through all exposure pathways and the contribution of inhalation pathway in Japanese children were examined by measuring urinary pyrethroid metabolites in the children and the airborne pyrethroids in their residences. Read More

PLoS One 2020 29;15(12):e0244447. Epub 2020 Dec 29.

Program in Public Health, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America.

Rapidly increasing pyrethroid insecticide resistance and changes in vector biting and resting behavior pose serious challenges in malaria control. Mosquito repellents, especially spatial repellents, have received much attention from industry. We attempted to simulate interactions between mosquitoes and repellents using a machine learning method, the Self-Propelled Particle (SPP) model, which we modified to include attractiveness/repellency effects. Read More