Chemical composition of four essential oils and their adulticidal, repellence, and field oviposition deterrence activities against Culex pipiens L. (Diptera: Culicidae).

Effective mosquito repellents can limit the transmission of vector-borne diseases to humans. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop mosquito control strategies that prioritize eco-friendly and cost-effective repellents. Essential oils (EOs) have enormous potential for mosquito repellency. Here, cinnamon, basil, eucalyptus, and peppermint EOs were investigated for adulticide and repellency properties against Culex pipiens as well on the oviposition behavior of gravid females from laboratory (lab test) and field (field test) populations. Cinnamon oil was an effective oviposition deterrent regardless of the population and had high adulticidal activity with toxicity index of 75.00% at 24 h of exposure, relative to deltamethrin. In addition, it exhibited effective repellency at 98.01% and 71.22% at 6.67 and 1.71 µl/cm2, respectively. Peppermint oil had the least adulticidal activity with toxicity index of 6.2% at 24 h, and it resulted in low repellency at 70.90% and 50.64% at 6.67 and 1.71 µl/cm2, respectively. On average, basil and eucalyptus oils showed some adulticidal efficiency, repellency, and oviposition deterrent activity. For all treatments, the oviposition deterrent index values of gravid females from natural populations (field test) were lower than those from lab-reared (lab test) females. Different ratios of monoterpenoids, phenylpropanoids, and fatty acids in the EOs tested likely account for the activity variations observed. Our results suggest cinnamon, basil, eucalyptus, and peppermint EOs, which are widely available, economical, and eco-friendly, with good potential for mosquito control strategies.

Para-Hisian atrial tachycardia: A neglected cause of severe heart failure in children.

Incessant focal atrial tachycardia (FAT) is the most common cause of tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy in pediatric patients and is usually a reversible condition with effective management of tachycardia, either with medical treatment or ablation. These patients may be misdiagnosed, potentially leading to inappropriate treatment. Diagnosis is often late and should always be suspected in patients with congestive heart failure and unexplained persistent tachycardia. Para-Hisian atrial tachycardia is not an uncommon type of FATs; however, catheter ablation of anterior atrial septum-ATs has been a challenge because of its proximity to the AV node and the complex anatomy of its region.

Recovery of cardiogenic shock with ablation of incessant tachycardia in a neonate.

Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is one of the most common conditions in neonates that require emergency cardiac care. Its incidence in infancy is 0.06 and 0.25 per 1000 patients per year by the age of 1 month and one year respectively. The symptoms are usually nonspecific and include poor feeding, irritability, vomiting, cyanosis, and pallid spells. If the symptoms are unrecognized for hours to days, the infant can present with significant hemodynamic compromise or heart failure. Despite the success of conservative management in most cases, catheter ablation is required in cases of failure of medical treatment. We report a case of SVT ablation using a single catheter in a neonate who presented with tachycardia-inducedcardiomyopathy (TIC).

Ablation of a life-threatening arrhythmia in a patient with Brugada syndrome.

Brugada syndrome is an autosomal dominant arrhythmogenic disease associated with an increased risk of ventricular fibrillation and sudden cardiac death. The mainstay of treatment in high-risk patients is an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), however radiofrequency ablation has been proposed over the past decade as an additional therapy in patients with recurrent ICD firing. We report a case of Brugada syndrome with an electrical storm which was successfully managed by radiofrequency ablation.

The Egyptian Collaborative Cardiac Genomics (ECCO-GEN) Project: defining a healthy volunteer cohort.

The integration of comprehensive genomic and phenotypic data from diverse ethnic populations offers unprecedented opportunities toward advancements in precision medicine and novel diagnostic technologies. Current reference genomic databases are not representative of the global human population, making variant interpretation challenging, especially in underrepresented populations, such as the North African population. To address this, the Egyptian Collaborative Cardiac Genomics (ECCO-GEN) Project launched a study comprising 1000 individuals free of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Here, we present the first 391 Egyptian healthy volunteers recruited to establish a pilot phenotyped control cohort. All individuals underwent detailed clinical investigation, including cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and were sequenced using a targeted panel of 174 genes with reported roles in inherited cardiac conditions. We identified 1262 variants in 27 cardiomyopathy genes of which 15.1% were not captured in current global and regional genetic reference databases (here: gnomAD and Great Middle Eastern Variome). The ECCO-GEN project aims at defining the genetic landscape of an understudied population and providing individual-level genetic and phenotypic data to support future studies in CVD and population genetics.

Antimosquito Activity of a Titanium-Organic Framework Supported on Fabrics.

Waste swamps, stagnant water, and poor hygiene practices result in the proliferation of mosquitoes that may cause transmissible and infectious diseases such as malaria, typhoid, cholera, and Zika virus sickness. It has been shown that composites of the traditional natural fibers cotton, viscose, and linen and a Ti-bearing metal-organic framework, NH2-MIL-125, are very effective against mosquitoes in the absence of any conventional insecticides. In our study, prior to coating with NH2-MIL-125 crystals, the fabrics were modified with 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane. The composite materials were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, UV-vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis. The latter, in particular, has shown the uniform coating of the fabrics with NH2-MIL-125 crystals. The modified fabrics have excellent antimosquito properties, attracting and killing them.

Toxicological studies for some agricultural waste extracts on mosquito larvae and experimental animals.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate some agricultural waste extracts as insecticide and their effects on enzyme activities in liver and kidney of male mice. METHODS: The insecticidal activity of five tested compounds (one crude extract and 4 waste compounds) was bioassay against the 3rd instars of the Culex pipiens (Cx. pipiens) larvae in the laboratory. The LC50 values of eucalyptol, apricot kernel, Rice bran, corn, black liquor and white liquor are 91.45, 1 166.1, 1 203.3, 21 449.65, 4 025.78 and 6 343.18 ppm, respectively. Selection of the compounds for the subsequent studies was not only dependent on LC50 values but also on the persistence of these wastes products on large scale. RESULTS: White and black liquor did not produce any gross effect at 200 mg/Kg body weight. No apparent toxic symptoms were observed in tested animals during the whole period of the experiment which run out for 14 days. No statistically significance was observed in the enzyme cholinesterase activity, the activities of liver enzymes and kidney function in treated mice with black and white liquors. While, no and slight inhibition was observed after the 2 weeks of treatment period with deltamethrin and fenitrothion reached to about 24% in plasma cholinesterase enzyme activity. Significantly increase in the activities of liver enzymes and kidney function in treated mice with deltamethrin and fenitrothion. CONCLUSIONS: Black liquor can be used efficiently to control Cx. pipiens larvae under laboratory condition. Environmental problem caused by rice straw can be solved by converting the waste material to beneficial natural selective insecticide.