BACKGROUND Tungiasis, an ectoparasitosis caused by the female sand flea Tunga penetrans, is an important health problem in many impoverished communities in the tropics. Sand flea disease is associated with a broad spectrum of clinical pathology and severe sequels are frequent. Treatment options are limited. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We assessed the effectiveness of the intermittent appli...

Stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), are one of the most serious livestock pests, which cause significant economic loss in the cattle industry. Current practices for managing stable flies are limited to costly sanitation techniques and unsustainable insecticide applications. The present study reports the initial efforts using catnip essential oil as a spatial repellent and the results of fie...

Repellents are being developed as an alternative to the use of poisons, traps, or firearms for controlling damage to forest and farm plantings by the introduced Australian brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) and European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Such repellents need to protect seedlings from irreversible damage for at least 6 months after application. Seven synthetic predator odor c...

For randomly chosen residents of the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, metropolitan area, survey responses, reported bites, and observed defensive behaviors (e.g., brushing, swatting) for a 5-min period in their yard were compared with simultaneous mosquito counts from a human-baited drop-net trap 6 m from the resident. When mosquitoes trapped, reported bites, or observed behaviors per 5 min wer...

The repellent efficacies of the U.S. military repellent 33% N,N-diethy l-3-methylbenzamide (deet), 10% and 20% (1S, 2 ′ S) 2-methylpiperidinyl-3-cyclohexene 1-carboxamide (SS220) and 10% and 20% 1-methyl-propyl-2-(hydroxyethyl)-1-piperidinecarboxylate (Bayrepel) cream formulations on human volunteers against the lone star tick Amblyomma americanum (L.) were evaluated in a simulated forest floor...

We have found that foraging bumblebees (Bombus hortorum, B. pascuorum, B. pratorum and B. terrestris) not only avoid ̄owers of Symphytum ocinale that have recently been visited by conspeci®cs but also those that have been recently visited by heterospeci®cs. We propose that the decision whether to reject or accept a ̄ower is in ̄uenced by a chemical odour that is left on the corolla by a forager...

Every year, approximately 700,000 people die from complications associated with etiologic disease agents transmitted by mosquitoes. While insecticide-based vector control strategies are important for the management of mosquito-borne diseases, insecticide-resistance and other logistical hurdles may lower the efficacy of this approach, especially in developing countries. Repellent technologies re...

Transparent liquid repellent coatings with exceptional wear and abrasion resistance are very demanding to fabricate. The most important reason for this is the fact that majority of the transparent liquid repellent coatings have so far been fabricated by nanoparticle assembly on surfaces in the form of films. These films or coatings demonstrate relatively poor substrate adhesion and rubbing indu...

Cosmetology, the science of alteration of appearance, has been practiced since primordial times. In India, the concept of using herbs for beautification finds its origin in traditional medicine literature like Ayurveda.The association between Ayurveda, anti-aging and cosmeceuticals is gaining importance in the beauty, health and wellness sector. Ayurvedic cosmeceuticals date back to the Indus V...

Herbal drug technology includes all the necessary steps for the conversion of botanical materials into medicines, where standardization and quality control are essential analytical tools to assure the correct identification of drugs. Advances in microscope technology and improvements in light and scanning electron microscopes have increased the accuracy and capabilities of microscopy as a mean ...