Preliminary examination of integrated vector management in a tropical rainforest area of Cameroon.

In the tropical rainforest area of Cameroon, people are affected by blackflies (Simulium spp.) and mosquitoes (Anopheles spp). Use of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) has been promoted to protect vulnerable groups from mosquito bites, whereas historically indoor residual spraying (IRS) was the primary intervention. In a malaria-endemic area, a pilot study examined different mosquito control interventions applied to entire villages to assess their impact on vectors, malaria incidence and the quality of life of the communities. The Sanaga River near these villages was treated with insecticide to kill blackfly larvae. A medical survey of the six villages had shown that 20% of the population suffered from malaria, while 50% were infected with onchocerciasis and 5% with Loa loa. IRS+ITN using ICON CS (lambda-cyhalothrin capsule suspension formulation) or improved screening of houses combined with outdoor misting reduced the numbers of mosquitoes collected from exit traps compared to the other treatments. More sporozoites were detected in mosquitoes sampled in exit traps in the untreated village than in the treated villages. Malaria incidence several months after treatments was not significantly different from pre-treatment levels. Blackfly adult populations were reduced for several weeks following larvicide application but recovered when treatment was halted.

Axon guidance in the mouse optic chiasm: retinal neurite inhibition by ephrin "A"-expressing hypothalamic cells in vitro.

In the mammalian visual system, retinal axons undergo temporal and spatial rearrangements as they project bilaterally to targets on the brain. Retinal axons cross the neuraxis to form the optic chiasm on the hypothalamus in a position defined by overlapping domains of regulatory gene expression. However, the downstream molecules that direct these processes remain largely unknown. Here we use a novel in vitro paradigm to study possible roles of the Eph family of receptor tyrosine kinases in chiasm formation. In vivo, Eph receptors and their ligands distribute in complex patterns in the retina and hypothalamus. In vitro, retinal axons are inhibited by reaggregates of isolated hypothalamic, but not dorsal diencephalic or cerebellar cells. Furthermore, temporal retinal neurites are more inhibited than nasal neurites by hypothalamic cells. Addition of soluble EphA5-Fc to block Eph "A" subclass interactions decreases both the inhibition and the differential response of retinal neurites by hypothalamic reaggregates. These data show that isolated hypothalamic cells elicit specific, position-dependent inhibitory responses from retinal neurites in culture. Moreover, these responses are mediated, in part, by Eph interactions. Together with the in vivo distributions, these data suggest possible roles for Eph family members in directing retinal axon growth and/or reorganization during optic chiasm formation.

Morphological domains of Lewis-X/FORSE-1 immunolabeling in the embryonic neural tube are due to developmental regulation of cell surface carbohydrate expression.

The Lewis-X (LeX) carbohydrate epitope, recognized by the FORSE-1 monoclonal antibody (mAb), shares expression boundaries with neural regulatory genes and may be involved in patterning the neural tube by creating domains of differential cell adhesion. The present experiments focus on the question of what determines the expression pattern of LeX in embryonic rat brain. Comparisons of FORSE-1-positive glycolipid and protein antigens in embryonic, early postnatal, and adult tissues show that the LeX epitope is carried primarily by glycolipids during embryonic development and by a proteoglycan and glycoproteins in postnatal and adult tissue. Immunohistochemistry using FORSE-1 and an antibody to the proteoglycan phosphacan, which carries LeX, shows that the distribution of LeX is more restricted than phosphacan. These observations suggest that the precise spatial regulation of FORSE-1 binding in the embryonic forebrain is due to the expression pattern of the LeX carbohydrate on glycolipids, rather than to the transcriptional regulation of a carrier protein.

Evaluation of spinning disc technology for the application of entomopathogenic nematodes against a foliar pest.

Two spinning disc spray application systems, the Micron Herbaflex and Micron Ulva+, were assessed for their potential for the application of infective juveniles (IJs) of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) against larvae of the diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella. The effect of initial concentration of IJs on subsequent infection was examined for three species of EPNs: Steinernema sp. (M87), Steinernema sp. (SSL85), and Heterorhabditis sp. Increasing the concentration of IJs generally resulted in a significant increase in both DBM mortality and the mean number of nematodes per larva following spray application with the Micron Herbaflex sprayer. Application with the Micron Ulva+ was examined using two different initial concentration of IJs, which generally resulted in an increase in DBM mortality and intensity of infection. The effect of changing the flow rate to the Ulva+ was also examined. This generally resulted in increased DBM mortality as flow rate was increased but there was little change in the mean number of nematodes per host larva. The effect of addition of a number of adjuvants to the spray solution on subsequent infection showed that DBM mortality by the IJs was not significantly affected but that the mean number of nematodes infecting was significantly enhanced by some of the adjuvants. Desiccation survival studies with IJs of Heterorhabditis sp. following application with both sprayers onto Chinese cabbage leaf discs, with or without the addition of an adjuvant, showed that the survival time of 50% of IJs was over 3 h. Infection of DBM larvae was also assessed following desiccation on Chinese cabbage leaf discs. High levels of infection were attainable, in terms of resultant DBM mortality, for at least 150 min following spray application.

Transient compartmental expression of a family of protein tyrosine phosphatases in the developing striatum.

The expression of a family of intracellular protein tyrosine phosphatases (STEP) was studied in the striatum of rats during ontogeny. Links between the formation of dopamine islands and STEP immunoreactive patches in the striatum were examined since previous work had suggested that STEP isoforms were selectively expressed in dopaminoceptive brain regions. STEP protein and mRNAs were distributed in a patchy manner during the first postnatal week. By 2 weeks, STEP immunoreactivity was homogeneous, indicating that both patch and matrix neurons express STEP by maturity. Two-color immunofluorescent staining was also performed to compare STEP with specific markers for patch and matrix. Tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive fibers from the substantia nigra form distinctive dopamine islands in the striatum during late embryonic development, and occupy the sites of future patches [23,37,38,54]. These fiber islands align with STEP immunoreactive neuronal patches during the first two postnatal weeks, suggesting that STEP is a marker for patch neurons in early postnatal development. When STEP's distribution was compared with other markers for patch (substance P) or matrix (calbindin), STEP co-localized with substance P in most striatal neurons on postnatal days 1 through 7. However, STEP was also expressed within a subset of calbindin-positive neurons in the lateral striatum, but not with these neurons elsewhere in the striatum. By adulthood, STEP colocalized with both markers. These results suggest that STEP is expressed first within patch neurons but not matrix, and subsequently within both. The expression of STEP may be triggered by the arrival of striatal afferents or other regulatory factors.