Larvicidal activity of Myrtaceae essential oils and their components against Aedes aegypti, acute toxicity on Daphnia magna, and aqueous residue.

The larvicidal activity of 11 Myrtaceae essential oils and their constituents was evaluated against Aedes aegypti L. Of the 11, Melaleuca linariifolia Sm., Melaleuca dissitiflora F. Muell., Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) S. T. Blake, and Eucalyptus globulus Labill oils at 0.1 mg/ml exhibited > or = 80% larval mortality. At this same concentration, the individual constituents tested, allyl isothiocyanate, alpha-terpinene, p-cymene, (+)-limonene, (-)-limonene, gamma-terpinene, and (E)-nerolidol, resulted in > or = 95% mortality. We also tested the acute toxicity of these four active oils earlier mentioned and their constituents against Daphnia magna Straus. M. linariifolia and allyl isothiocyanate was the most toxic to D. magna. Twodays after treatment, residues of M. dissitiflora, M. linariifolia, M. quinquenervia, and E. globulus oils in water were 55.4, 46.6, 32.4, and 14.8%, respectively. Less than 10% of allyl isothiocyanate, alpha-terpinene, p-cymene, (-)-limonene, (+)-limonene, and gamma-terpinene was detected in the water at 2 d after treatment. Our results indicated that oils and their constituents could easily volatilize in water within a few days after application, thus minimizing their effect on the aqueous ecosystem. Therefore, Myrtaceae essential oils and their constituents could be developed as control agents against mosquito larvae.

Evaluation of myocardial flow reserve using pharmacological stress thallium-201 single-photon emission computed tomography: is there a difference between total arterial off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting and conventional coronary artery bypass grafting?

BACKGROUND: The advantage of total arterial off-pump coronary bypass grafting (OPCAB) over conventional onpump coronary artery bypass grafting with 1 internal thoracic artery and veins (CCAB) in terms of myocardial flow reserve has not been studied. We studied these procedures using thallium- 201 perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (Tl-201 perfusion SPECT). METHODS: Between 1997 and 2001, 152 patients were recruited from our database (OPCAB, n = 100; CCAB, n = 52). All patients underwent pharmacological stress Tl-201 perfusion SPECT 3 to 12 months after bypass surgery. Myocardial perfusion was analyzed semiquantitatively with a 5-point scoring system in a 20-segment model (0, normal, to 4, absence of uptake). Summed stress (SSS), rest (SRS), and difference score (SDS) of the entire myocardium as well as average scores (ASS, ARS, ADS) of individual walls (anterior, septal, lateral, and inferior) were compared by Student t test as well as by repeated-measures analysis of variance with Bonferroni correction. RESULTS: The SSS, SRS, and SDS of OPCAB versus those of CCAB were 6.86 +/- 0.72 versus 7.17 +/- 0.92, 3.95 +/- 0.57 versus 3.75 +/- 0.73, and 2.91 +/- 0.47 versus 3.42 +/- 0.74 (P > .05). However, the lateral wall showed lower scores in OPCAB (ASS, 0.18 versus 0.41, P = .015; ARS, 0.12 versus 0.20, P = .168; ADS, 0.06 versus 0.21, P = .031). The septal wall had higher scores in OPCAB (ASS, 0.33 versus 0.12, P = .003; ARS, 0.18 versus 0.07, P = .037; ADS, 0.14 versus 0.04, P = .030). The anterior and inferior walls were not different between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: OPCAB led to results similar to those of CCAB. The better results in the lateral wall have been the effect of grafting radial artery rather than vein. The similarity in myocardial reserve in the inferior wall between the 2 groups needs further study. There was no deleterious effect of off-pump as opposed to on-pump CAB.