People not only inhale airborne contaminants but also absorb them through the skin. Both routes can set off localized toxic reactions or damage internal organs such as the liver, kidney, and brain. Conventional tests of the toxicity of gases and vapors, in which laboratory animals are exposed to lethal or sub-lethal doses of chemicals, have been criticized as expensive, unethical, inhumane, and...

We report a label-free real-time nanopore sensing method for the detection of anthrax lethal factor, a component of the anthrax toxin, by using a complementary single-stranded DNA as a molecular probe. The method is rapid and sensitive: sub-nanomolar concentrations of the target anthrax lethal factor DNA could be detected in ∼1 min. Further, our method is selective, which can differentiate the ...

Carabid beetles are species rich and abundant in arable habitats worldwide and, due to their predatory polyphagous nutrition, potentially important as natural pest control agents (Kromp, 1999). Diversification of agricultural field margins with techniques such as sowing wildflower mixes can enhance populations of arthropods such as carabid beetles (Asteraki et al., 1995). Management of this typ...

Background: This study aims to investigate the patterns of bioaccumulation and depuration of copper in the selected kidney and liver of Capoeta fusca. Methods: The fish were collected between September and November 2010 from a qanat in Birjand. They were exposed to two types treatments with copper (0.25 and 0.75 mg/L) for a period of 41 days. The fish under study were exposed to the above-ment...

Background: In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the development of sub-lethal earthworm biomarkers as they are relevant indicators of environmental change and they are among the five key indicators for ecotoxicological testing of industrial chemicals determined by the OECD. In the present study, the effects of an organophosphate pesticide dichlorovos on lysosomes of coelomoc...

the potato tuber moth (ptm), phthorimaea operculella (zeller) is one of the important pests of potato in tropical regions. in this research, the toxicity of two insecticides, abamectin and deltamethrin on p. operculella was studied at 26 ± 1 c°, 65 ± 5% rh and photoperiod of 16:8 h (l: d). the concentrations were determined by preliminary dose setting experiments. distilled water was used as co...

In agricultural areas, insecticides inevitably reach water bodies via leaching or run-off. While designed to be neurotoxic insects, have adverse effects on a multitude of organisms due the high conservation nervous system among phyla. To estimate ecological insecticides, it is important investigate their impact non-target such as fish. Using zebrafish model, we investigated how different classe...