1,721,034 research outputs found
Analysing the role of semiochemicals in the oviposition substrate choices of the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles gambiae sensu lato
Full text linkThe search for tools that target malaria vector that resist insecticides and bite outdoors has become a research priority. Such tools will be necessary for managing residual malaria transmission and hastening the eradication of this devastating disease. This study investigated chemicals that potentially affect the oviposition substrate choices of Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.). It is foreseen that increased knowledge of the oviposition behaviour of this major malaria vectors and chemicals cues that mediate oviposition site-selection can be applied in the development of additional sampling methods and alternative interventions that to trap gravid malaria mosquitoes outdoors.
To achieve a reproducible high egg-laying success of An. gambiae sensu stricto (s.s.) and An. arabiensis four factors were evaluated: (1) the time provided for mating; (2) the impact of cage size, mosquito age and female body size on insemination; (3) the peak oviposition time; and, (4) the host source of blood meals. Then four bioassays were optimised for studying oviposition responses of An. gambiae s.s. in the laboratory and semi-field conditions: a WHO-tube bioassay and a wind-tunnel that detected short-range attraction in the laboratory; a two-tier choice egg-count bioassay that compared the relative proportion of eggs laid in substrates in the laboratory; and a modified BG Sentinel mosquito gravid trap that evaluated long-range attraction of gravid females to olfactory cues in the semi-field. Finally, the oviposition responses of gravid An. gambiae s.s. mosquitoes to water vapour, Bermuda grass hay infusion (hay infusion), and putative semiochemicals identified from the hay infusion and a soil infusion previously shown to elicit higher egg deposition compared to filtered Lake Victoria water (lake water) in two choice egg-count bioassays (Herrera-Varela et al. 2014), were evaluated.
High oviposition rates [84%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 77-89%] were achieved when 300 male and 300 blood-fed female An. gambiae s.s. were held together in a cage for four days. The chance of oviposition in the mosquitoes dropped when human host source of blood-meal was substituted with a rabbit (Odds ratio (OR) 0.30, 95% CI 0.14-0.66) but egg-numbers per female were not affected. All four optimised oviposition bioassays effectively showed between 15-20% shifts in oviposition substrate choices of mosquitoes with 80% statistical power and 5% significance. Using the WHO-tube bioassay, gravid An. gambiae s.s. were shown to be 2.4 times (95% CI 1.3-4.7 times) more likely to move towards high humidity in still air compared to non-gravid
Preamble mosquitoes. This was more pronounced in the airflow olfactometer where the gravid mosquitoes were 10.6 times (95% CI 5.4-20.8 times) more likely to fly into a chamber with water than a dry chamber.
Two-choice egg-count bioassays showed that An. gambiae s.s. were less likely to lay eggs in six-day old hay infusion (OR 0.10, 95% CI 0.03-0.33) compared to lake water. Ten putative semiochemicals were identified from the hay infusion using mass spectrometry and published electrophysiology data: 4-hepten-1-ol, 4-ethylphenol, phenylmethanol, 2-phenylethanol, indole, phenol, 3-methylindole, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 4-ethylphenol, and nonanal. Tested in two-choice egg-count bioassays, the first four listed compounds had no effect on egg deposition at the tested concentrations (between 0.01-5 parts per million) but mosquitoes were less likely to lay eggs in at least one concentration of 3-methylindole (OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.21-0.71), indole (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.37-0.87), 3-methyl-1-butanol (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.22-0.47), phenol (OR 0.55, 0.32-0.95), 4-methylphenol (OR 0.32, 0.18-0.57) and nonanal (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.47-0.91) compared to lake water. In contrast to the hay infusion and hay infusion volatiles, An. gambiae s.s. were about two times more likely to lay eggs in cedrol, a sesquiterpene alcohol identified from the soil infusion, compared to lake water (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.16-2.91). Cedrol attracted twice as many gravid mosquitoes in the semi-field also (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.63-2.27). In the field, modified BG-Sentinel traps, electrocuting nets and OviART gravid traps with lake water and cedrol were three times more likely to trap malaria mosquitoes compared to traps with water only (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.4-7.9).
In conclusion, water vapour was shown to be a strong, non-specific pre-oviposition attractant for gravid An. gambiae s.s. in still air and moving air. It is probably the long range cue that gravid An. gambiae s.l. use to detect the presence aquatic habitats beyond the range of chemical cues. Evidence showed that An. gambiae s.s. discriminate between potential oviposition substrates and that this selective process is in-part mediated by volatile organic compounds originating from the site. Water vapour leads gravid mosquitoes to aquatic sites but semiochemicals enable the mosquitoes to discriminate and select between potential habitats. It was demonstrated that synthetic equivalents of semiochemicals found to attract gravid mosquitoes such as cedrol can be used to trap malaria mosquitoes outdoors
Novel insecticides and application strategies for malaria vector control
Full text linkTargeting malaria vector mosquitoes outdoors has become a research priority to address residual malaria transmission. Mosquito larval source management provides an excellent and well established tool. However, there is a need to reduce the cost and effort of larviciding programmes by testing persistent larvicides that reduce the frequency of application and by exploring novel strategies of application. This thesis aimed to evaluate two larval control agents, with unique mode of actions: the self-spreading silicone-based film Aquatain Mosquito Formulation (AMF) and the pyriproxyfen-based insect growth regulator Sumilarv®.
Dose-response tests and standardized field tests were conducted to assess the susceptibility of Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto and An. arabiensis to the two insecticides and determine their residual activity. Adults that survived exposure to larvicide-treated water at the larval stages were assessed for possible effects on fecundity and fertility. Both species were highly susceptible to both control agents at very low doses. Both control agents provided residual control of up to six weeks. Adults that emerged from larvicide-treated water laid fewer eggs and had low egg hatching rates. Consequently, the impact of three-weekly operational application of pyriproxyfen to habitats in the western Kenya highlands was assessed by comparing adult vector emergences from aquatic habitats in intervention and non-intervention sites. Pyriproxyfen application led to over 80% adult vector emergence inhibition from treated aquatic habitats.
To assess if larvicide-treated water could serve as ‘reproductive sinks’ for gravid mosquitoes, the oviposition response of gravid An. gambiae s.s. to water treated with pyriproxyfen or surface film was tested under semi-field conditions using squares of electrocuting nets. Larvicide-treated water did not affect the pre-oviposition behaviour of gravid females. This study however did not demonstrate that ‘attract and kill’ strategies could be used for control of malaria vectors as the addition of an oviposition attractant to ponds containing larvicide-treated water did not increase the proportion of gravid females orienting towards this pond.
To explore the effect of pyriproxyfen exposure on adults, individual An. gambiae s.s. and Cx. quinquefasciatus females were exposed to pyriproxyfen at seven time points around blood feeding. Fecundity and ability to transfer pyriproxyfen to an oviposition substrate
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were studied in the laboratory. The impact of pyriproxyfen was dependent on the time of exposure. Females were nearly completely sterilized when exposure occurred around the blood meal while pyriproxyfen was only transferred by females that were exposed while gravid and close to egg-laying time.
Consequently, a baiting station for gravid females was developed and semi-field experiments implemented to explore the transfer of pyriproxyfen by gravid An. gambiae s.s. from the baiting station to aquatic habitats. Horizontal transfer was observed but the extent of emergence inhibition was dependent on the distance of the habitat from the baiting station. Only the closest habitats received sufficient pyriproxyfen to control significant numbers of offspring.
In conclusion, this study demonstrated great potential of the two control agents for the control of vector immature stages and adults caused by sterilizing effects of pyriproxyfen. Results suggest that they are suitable for inclusion into integrated vector management programmes for malaria control. Auto-dissemination of pyriproxyfen however, appears not to be a feasible strategy for malaria vector control
Larval habitat discrimination by the African malaria vector Anopheles gambiae sensu lato: Observations from standardized experiments and field studies
Full text linkCurrent malaria vector control strategies in Africa target indoor resting and biting mosquitoes and rely heavily on a small number of insecticides. These interventions have lead to the selection of insecticide resistance, behavioural adaptations of the vectors and leave naturally exophilic species nearly untouched. Gravid Anopheles gambiae s.l. female searching for an oviposition site would be a novel target for vector control. However, little is known about the oviposition-site selection behaviour (criteria) of this mosquito.
The major aim of the presented research was to investigate if gravid An. gambiae s.l make informed choices when selecting an oviposition site and to identify physical, chemical and biological parameters associated with these choices under standardized experimental and natural field conditions.
Standardized field tests and dual-choice oviposition bioassays were used to evaluate responses to soil and rabbit food pellets infusions and habitat water and also to test if bacteria and the volatile chemicals that bacteria produce are relevant to habitat selection. A case–control approach was used to study natural aquatic habitats on Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria during the long rainy season in 2012 to compare the characteristics of habitats colonized (cases) and not colonized (controls) by early instar Anopheles larvae. Factors evaluated included biological characteristics of the sites, zooplankton, invertebrate fauna, physical parameters, nutrients, bacteria communities and volatile chemicals released from the water. Multivariate analyses were used to investigate associations between oviposition site characteristics and habitat selection by Anopheles.
The experimental work illustrated that wild and caged An. gambiae s.l. females discriminate between potential aquatic habitats for oviposition and gravid An. gambiae s.l. female select suitable habitats using preferred and avoided chemical cues from water bodies. It furthermore emphasizes that natural infusions can be used to manipulate the oviposition behaviour of An. gambiae s.l.. In the field no evidence was found that bacteria from natural habitat water were involved in habitat selection. Although chemical cues were highly diverse analysis suggests that cases and control habitats differ in the headspace volatile profile of the water. High turbidity >200 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) was the only environmental factor strongly associated with cases. Other risk factors were higher grass coverage (positive association), and the abundance of creeping water bugs of the family Naucoridae and fish (negative associations).
This study demonstrates that gravid An. gambiae females choose suitable habitats for oviposition using a complex system of chemical and visual cues from water bodies. Habitats preferred by An. gambiae exhibited distinct and measurable characteristics that can be potentially exploited to attract and kill gravid females to improve malaria vector monitoring and control
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Ecology and Epidemiology of Integrated Malaria Vector Management in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Full text linkMalaria remains one of the major contributors to the global burden of disease with approximately 70% of the clinical malaria attacks occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. Sub- Saharan Africa has the highest risk as ideal climatic conditions for transmission coincide with occurrence of some of the most efficient malaria vectors, namely Anopheles gambiae s.s., Anopheles arabiensis and Anopheles funestus.. Even though it is estimated that by the year 2030 more than 50% of the African population will live in towns and cities, relatively little is known about urban malaria epidemiology, larval ecology and adult mosquito behaviour. Although integrated malaria control programs including environmental management and larviciding have proven successful before the Global Eradication Campaign started in 1955, they were neglected after the invention of DDT. Lately interest into these control measures has revived but it remains to be determined whether they are feasible and cost-effective in urban Africa. The overall goal of the research presented in this thesis was to enhance current understanding of urban malaria epidemiology and ecology and to take an in-depth look at the effectiveness of larviciding with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bti) in the context of the Urban Malaria Control Program (UMCP) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Our findings are based on data derived from the first 3 years of the UMCP, where data collection started in March 2004. The project area includes 5 wards in each of the 3 municipalities which consist of 67 mitaa covering an area of 55 km2 in which 611,871 people lived during the population census of 2002. Achieving the UMCPs objectives fundamentally relies on three component activities: 1) Mapping and surveillance of potential Anopheles breeding sites, 2) Monitoring of adult mosquito densities, and 3) Household surveys with questionnaires and blood smears testing for malaria parasite infection. In the third year of the UMCP, beginning in March 2006, the routine application of the microbial larvicides Bti in open habitats and Bs in closed habitats was initiated in 3 of the 15 wards in the study area, adding to existing interventions such as bednets, house screening, ceiling boards, repellents, spray and coils. At the same time a detailed survey of mosquito biting behaviour, human behaviour and domestic protection measures was conducted in 12 Ten Cell Units (TCU), the smallest subunit of local government in Tanzania, which presented the highest An. gambiae s.l. densities during the early period of the UMCP surveillance system. Human landing catch (HLC) was conducted in 216 houses on an hourly basis indoors and outdoors from 6 pm till 7 am and residents were interviewed about their sleeping behaviour, where they spend their evenings and what kind of preventive measures against malaria they use. Personal protection of an insecticide treated net (ITN) was evaluated using an extension of a recently developed mathematical model. Overall An. gambiae s.l. exhibited a classical hourly biting pattern. In contrast one of the complex’s component sibling species, namely An. arabiensis, had an early biting peak before 10 pm. Both sibling species, namely An. gambiae s.s. and An. arabiensis, as well as An. funestus and An. coustani were highly exophagic. This behaviour led to a reduced personal protection against exposure to An. gambiae s.s. by ITNs which conferred 59% reduction of exposure in Dar es Salaam compared to 70% in rural Tanzania. An. arabiensis is a vector of only modest importance in Dar es Salaam which is fortunate because ITNs only conferred 38% protection against exposure to this species of mosquito. ITNs conferred slightly less protection against exposure to malaria vectors in good quality houses. This is mainly because people living in good houses tend to spend more time indoors before they go to bed. An. gambiae s.l. is the most important vector in Dar es Salaam , responsible for an EIR (entomological inoculation rate) of 1.00 infectious bites per person per year whereas An. funestus has an EIR of 0.13. Surprisingly, An. coustani also acts as a notable vector in Dar es Salaam with an EIR of 0.20 infectious bites per person per year. Malaria transmission is seasonal with two peaks of malaria prevalence during and after the two rainy seasons. Malaria prevalence was only related to EIR in children under 5 years of age, with a classical ageprevalence distribution similar to most of rural Africa. Malaria prevalence steadily declined from 2004 onwards as the use of window screenings, ceiling boards and more effective drugs like amodiaquine and artemisin-based drugs increased. ITNs (prevalence reduction estimate 20%, 95% CI 0%-36%; P=0.060; year 1) and ceiling boards (prevalence reduction estimate 22%, 95% CI 3%-38%; P=0.026; year 2) conferred modest personal protection and reduced malaria prevalence by approximately one fifth. By comparison, a much greater reduction (prevalence reduction estimate 50%, 95% CI 20%-64%; P=0.002) of malaria prevalence was achieved by larviciding with Bti. This was mainly achieved through major reductions of An. gambiae during July and August when most of the sporozoite infected mosquitoes were caught, combined with all-year-round suppression of the secondary vectors, namely An. funestus and An. coustani. This major achievement was only possible through the novel surveillance and staff management procedures developed by the UMCP to enable effective community based implementation in a decentralized manner. Standards of the surveillance improved greatly after the onset of the program with realized reaction times to vector surveillance at observations being one day, week and month at ward, municipality and city level, respectively. These results of changing biting behaviour of the main malaria vectors in urban settings and the therefore lower but still useful personal protection offered by ITNs call for additional complementary vector control methods such as environmental management or larviciding. The UMCP demonstrated that major reductions in malaria prevalence can be achieved through routine application of microbial larvicides with its new practical management and surveillance system. As these represent the early results of the program, we expect substantial improvement with time and investment. Here we demonstrated for the first time since before the Global Eradication Campaign era, a success story of a malaria control program integrating larviciding, which could be easily adapted by other African cities as a cost-effective option for malaria prevention
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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