Setothosea asigna van Eecke is a dominant defoliator pest in oil palm plantations. To control this pest, a generalist predatory bug, Sycanus annulicornis Dohrn, was used as it is easy to rear on several different species of prey. In this study, we evaluated the influence of different prey on the biology and the ability of S. annulicornis to attack and kill the nettle caterpillar pest S. asigna. Based on laboratory rearing, the larvae of Crocidolomia pavonana F. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is a suitable prey for both the growth and development of S. annulicornis, as its nymphal development is shorter (74.0 ± 7.3 days) and adult longevity longer (81.0 ± 9.0 days for male and 64.8 ± 12.4 days for female, respectively) than when reared on the larvae of Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) (44.0 ± 16.7 days for male and 52.6 ± 14.4 days for female). However, S. annulicornis reared on T. molitor larvae attacked 2.0-2.2 larvae of S. asigna per day, which is more than the 1.6-1.7 larvae per day of those reared on C. pavonana, which indicates that the larvae of T. molitor are a more effective diet for rearing S. annulicornis as biocontrol agent for the S. asigna., Abdul Sahid, Wahyu D. Natawigena, Hersanti, Sudarjat., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in the mechanism of postischemic contractile dysfunction, known as myocardial stunning. In this study, we examined protective effects of antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, against ischemia/reperfusion-induced cardiac dysfunction and inhibition of Na+,K+-ATPase activity. Isolated Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts were subjected to 15 min of global normothermic ischemia followed by 10 min reperfusion. The hearts treated with SOD plus catalase did not show significant recovery of left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic pressure compared with untreated ischemic reperfused hearts. Treatment with antioxidants had no protective effects on developed LV pressure or its maximal positive and negative first derivatives (±LVdP/dt). Myocardial stunning was accompanied by significant loss in sarcolemmal Na+,K+-ATPase activity and thiol group content. Inhibition of enzyme activity and oxidation of SH groups were not prevented by antioxidant enzymes. These results suggest that administration of SOD and catalase in perfusate do not protect significantly against cardiac dysfunction in stunned rabbit myocardium., P. Kaplán, M. Matejovičová, P. Herijgers, W. Flameng., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
The impact of environmental pollution at the place of residence of pregnant women and of their smoking habits on the cellular energy metabolism of placental tissue was investigated. Samples of full-term placentas were randomly collected from two environmentally different regions of Slovakia (Bratislava, Stará Ľubovňa) and the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was measured. Our results showed enhanced LDH activity in the placenta that was dependent on both the type of environmental pollutants at the place of residence and the smoking habits during pregnancy. The enhanced LDH activity may reflect hypoxic conditions due to the accumulation of heavy metals and toxic compounds of tobacco smoke in the placental tissue. A high content of heavy metal particles, found in placental samples from Stará Ľubovňa in our previous studies, might contribute to the increased LDH activity in placentas from this region. We hypothesize that fine metal particles deposited in the placental tissue might be phagocytozed by the syncytiotrophoblast, thus contributing to the decreased oxygen level in placental tissue., A. Kaiglová, E. Reichrtová, A. Adamčáková, L. Wsólová., and Obsahuje bibliografii