Pathogenicity of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae var. major on different stages of the sunn pest Eurygaster integriceps.

The sunn pest, Eurygaster integriceps Puton (Hemiptera: Scutelleridae), is the most important insect pest of wheat and barley. The population management of this pest is of major concern to wheat producers. One of the potential control strategies is to use entomopathogenic fungi. This study evaluates the pathogenicity of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae var. major (Metchnikoff) Sorokin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) on the sunn pest, E. integriceps. Five concentrations of the fungus were utilized, ranging from 1×10(4) to 1×10(8) conidia/mL, accompanied by controls. Fifth instar nymphs and adults (a migratory summer population and a diapausing population) previously exposed to fungi were sown to isolate the fungi, and the growth parameters were analyzed. A direct spray technique was used to expose the isolates to the E. integriceps. The experiment was repeated four times, and mortalities of the insects for all treatments were recorded daily. The results showed that the mortality of infected nymphs was significantly higher than the mortality of control nymphs. Also, the longevity of infected adults was lower than the controls. The results also showed that diapausing adults of the sunn pest were much more susceptible to infection than the summer adults. Estimated LC50 values for the M14 isolate were 1.4 × 10(6), 1.4 ×10 (5) , and 2.3 × 10(3) spores/mL against the aestivation population, the diapausing population, and 5(th) instar nymphs, respectively. Estimated LT50 values using 10(8) spores/mL of the Mm isolate on the aestivation and diapausing populations were 11.9 and 5.11 days, respectively. The results demonstrated that M. anisoplaie was effective on all of stages of E. integriceps. In addition, the nymphal stage was more susceptible than the adults.

High-dose intravenous methylprednisolone in recent traumatic optic neuropathy; a randomized double-masked placebo-controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: To compare the effect of high-dose intravenous corticosteroid therapy with placebo in the treatment of recent traumatic optic neuropathy (TON). METHODS: In a double-masked placebo-controlled clinical trial, 31 eyes of 31 patients were randomly assigned to two groups. Patients with history of trauma < or =7 days were included. Unconscious patients, eyes with penetrating trauma and candidates for decompression surgery were excluded. The treatment group (16 eyes) received 250 mg methylprednisolone intravenously every 6 h for 3 days, then 1 mg/kg prednisolone orally for 14 days; the placebo group (15 eyes) received 50 ml normal saline intravenously every 6 h for 3 days, then placebo for 14 days. Visual improvement was considered as a decrease of at least 0.4 logMAR in final visual acuity. RESULTS: Mean final BCVA (best corrected visual acuity) in the treatment group was 1.11+/- 1.14 and the placebo group was 1.78 +/- 1.23. This difference was not significant (P = 0.13). Visual acuity was improved in 68.8% of the treatment group and 53.3% of the placebo group, but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.38). The difference between initial and final BCVA in both groups was determined to be statistically significant (P < 0.001 and 0.010 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms earlier findings that there is no difference in visual acuity improvement between intravenous high-dose corticosteroids and placebo in treatment of recent TNO.