Search results for: termite.

Authors: Christian A. Romero, Tanja Grkovic, John. R. J. French, D. İpek. Kurtböke, Ronald J. Quinn

Abstract:

A high-throughput and automated 1H NMR metabolic fingerprinting dereplication approach was used to accelerate the discovery of unknown bioactive secondary metabolites. The applied dereplication strategy accelerated the discovery of new natural products, provided rapid and competent identification and quantification of the known secondary metabolites and avoided time-consuming isolation procedures. The effectiveness of the technique was demonstrated by the isolation and elucidation of arglecins B (1), C (2) and actinofuranosin A (3) from a termite-gut associated Streptomyces sp. (USC 597) grown under solid state fermentation. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by extensive interpretation of 1H, 13C and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. These represent the first report of arglecin analogues isolated from a termite gut-associated Streptomyces species.

Keywords: Actinomycetes, actinofuranosin, antibiotics, arglecins, NMR spectroscopy.

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Authors: P. Chaijak, M. Lertworapreecha, C. Sukkasem

Abstract:

A huge of dark color palm oil mill effluent (POME) cannot pass the discharge standard. It has been identified as the major contributor to the pollution load into ground water. Here, lignin-degrading yeast isolated from a termite nest was tested to treat the POME. Its lignin-degrading and decolorizing ability was determined. The result illustrated that Galactomyces sp. was successfully grown in POME. The decolorizing test demonstrated that 40% of Galactomyces sp. could reduce the color of POME (50% v/v) about 74-75% in 5 days without nutrient supplement. The result suggested that G. reessii has a potential to apply for decolorizing the dark wastewater like POME and other industrial wastewaters.

Keywords: Decolorization, palm oil mill effluent, ligninolytic enzyme, yeast, termite.

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Authors: Mai. M. Toughan, Ahmed A. A. Sallam, Ashraf O. Abd El-Latif

Abstract:

Termites are eusocial insects that are found on all continents except Antarctica. Termites have serious destructive impact, damaging local huts and crops of poor subsistence. The annual cost of termite damage and its control is determined in the billions globally. In Egypt, most of these damages are due to the subterranean termite species especially the sand termite, P. hypostoma. Pyrethroids became the primary weapon for subterranean termite control, after the use of chlorpyrifos as a soil termiticide was banned. Despite the important role of pyrethroids in termite control, its extensive use in pest control led to the eventual rise of insecticide resistance which may make many of the pyrethroids ineffective. The ability to diagnose the precise mechanism of pyrethroid resistance in any insect species would be the key component of its management at specified location for a specific population. In the present study, detailed toxicological and biochemical studies was conducted on the mechanism of pyrethroid resistance in P. hypostoma. The susceptibility of field populations of P. hypostoma against deltamethrin, α-cypermethrin and ƛ-cyhalothrin was evaluated. The obtained results revealed that the workers of P. hypostoma have developed high resistance level against the tested pyrethroids. Studies carried out through estimation of detoxification enzyme activity indicated that enhanced esterase and cytochrome P450 activities were probably important mechanisms for pyrethroid resistance in field populations. Elevated esterase activity and also additional esterase isozyme were observed in the pyrethroid-resistant populations compared to the susceptible populations. Strong positive correlation between cytochrome P450 activity and pyrethroid resistance was also reported. |Deltamethrin could be recommended as a resistance-breaking pyrethroid that is active against resistant populations of P. hypostoma.

Keywords: Psammotermes hypostoma, pyrethroid resistance, esterase, cytochrome P450.

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Authors: C. Rajan, K. Geetha, C. Rasi Priya, S. Geetha

Abstract:

Nature is the immense gifted source for solving complex problems. It always helps to find the optimal solution to solve the problem. Mobile Ad Hoc NETwork (MANET) is a wide research area of networks which has set of independent nodes. The characteristics involved in MANET’s are Dynamic, does not depend on any fixed infrastructure or centralized networks, High mobility. The Bio-Inspired algorithms are mimics the nature for solving optimization problems opening a new era in MANET. The typical Swarm Intelligence (SI) algorithms are Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Modified Termite Algorithm, Bat Algorithm (BA), Wolf Search Algorithm (WSA) and so on. This work mainly concentrated on nature of MANET and behavior of nodes. Also it analyses various performance metrics such as throughput, QoS and End-to-End delay etc.

Keywords: Ant Colony Algorithm, Artificial Bee Colony algorithm, Bio-Inspired algorithm, Modified Termite Algorithm.

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Authors: A. Atli, K. Candelier, J. Alteyrac

Abstract:

Environmental and sustainability concerns push the industries to manufacture alternative materials having less environmental impact. The Wood Plastic Composites (WPCs) produced by blending the biopolymers and natural fillers permit not only to tailor the desired properties of materials but also are the solution to meet the environmental and sustainability requirements. This work presents the elaboration and characterization of the fully green WPCs prepared by blending a biopolymer, BIOPLAST® GS 2189 and spruce sawdust used as filler with different amounts. Since both components are bio-based, the resulting material is entirely environmentally friendly. The mechanical, thermal, structural properties of these WPCs were characterized by different analytical methods like tensile, flexural and impact tests, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). Their water absorption properties and resistance to the termite and fungal attacks were determined in relation with different wood filler content. The tensile and flexural moduli of WPCs increased with increasing amount of wood fillers into the biopolymer, but WPCs became more brittle compared to the neat polymer. Incorporation of spruce sawdust modified the thermal properties of polymer: The degradation, cold crystallization, and melting temperatures shifted to higher temperatures when spruce sawdust was added into polymer. The termite, fungal and water absorption resistance of WPCs decreased with increasing wood amount in WPCs, but remained in durability class 1 (durable) concerning fungal resistance and quoted 1 (attempted attack) in visual rating regarding to the termites resistance except that the WPC with the highest wood content (30 wt%) rated 2 (slight attack) indicating a long term durability. All the results showed the possibility to elaborate the easy injectable composite materials with adjustable properties by incorporation of BIOPLAST® GS 2189 and spruce sawdust. Therefore, lightweight WPCs allow both to recycle wood industry byproducts and to produce a full ecologic material.

Keywords: Biodegradability, durability, mechanical properties, melt flow index, spectrophotometry, structural properties, thermal properties, wood-plastic composites.

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Authors: A. A. Aiyeloja, G.A. Adedeji, S. L. Larinde

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Termites have been observed as major pre-colonisation and post-colonisation pest insect of honeybees’ wooden hives in Nigeria. However, pest situation studies in modern beekeeping have been largely directed towards those pests that affect honeybees rather than the biological structure (wood) which houses the honeybees and the influence of seasons on the pests’ activities against the hives. This study, therefore, investigated the influence of seasons on the intensity of hives attacks by termites for 2 years in University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State using visual inspection. The Experimental Apiary was established with 15 Kenyan’s top bar hives made of Triplochiton scleroxylon wood that were strategically placed and observed within the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management arboretum. The colonies hives consistently showed comparatively lower termite’s infestation levels in the dry season and, consequently, also lower attacks on the colonized hives. The result indicated raining season as a distinct period for more destructive activities of termites on the hives and strongly associated with dryness of the hives. Since previous study and observations have linked colonization with dry season coupled with minimal attacked on colonized hives; the non-colonised hives should be removed from the field at the onset of raining season and returned two weeks prior to dry season to reduce hives degradation by pests.

Keywords: Attack, hives degradation, Nigeria, seasons, termites.

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