Os praguicidas são os principais agentes responsáveis pelas intoxicações, tanto em seres humanos como em animais. Dados preliminares sugerem que o uso ilegal do praguicida carbamato aldicarb ("chumbinho"), com a finalidade de intoxicar fatalmente cães e gatos, é uma prática comum na cidade de São Paulo. Apesar de não haver um levantamento sistemático destes casos, o Serviço de Necroscopia do Departamento de Patologia da Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia da Universidade de São Paulo (FMVZ/USP), tem registrado com relativa freqüência casos em que a principal suspeita de causa mortis é a intoxicação exógena por este agente. Desta maneira, o presente estudo propôs realizar um levantamento criterioso dos casos de intoxicação em cães e gatos recebidos por este Serviço, durante o período de 1999 a 2003, identificar e caracterizar os casos de intoxicação por aldicarb, incluindo a descrição das alterações post mortem macroscópicas, e empregar um método analítico para a confirmação do diagnóstico (cromatografia em camada delgada). Os resultados mostraram que os casos de intoxicação representam 14,3% das causas de óbitos em ambas espécies, sendo 9,8% em cães e 31,8% em gatos. O principal agente tóxico encontrado foi o aldicarb (214 casos), responsável por 89,0% das intoxicações em cães (113 casos) e 94,4% das em gatos (101 casos). Os demais agentes tóxicos encontrados foram: anticoagulantes em 9,4% dos cães (12 casos) e 0,9% dos gatos (1 caso), monofluoracetato de sódio em 1,6% dos cães (2 casos) e um solvente orgânico não especificado em 4,7% dos gatos (5 casos). Em todos os casos de intoxicação por aldicarb foram encontrados grânulos de coloração enegrecida no conteúdo estomacal, sugerindo a presença deste agente tóxico. Em ambas espécies, os órgãos mais afetados foram os pulmões (91,1% - hemorragia, edema e congestão), fígado (64,0% - congestão) e rins (43,4% - congestão). A cromatografia em camada delgada foi capaz de identificar a presença do aldicarb em todas as amostras de conteúdo estomacal provenientes de animais intoxicados por este agente, mostrando ser uma técnica qualitativa eficiente e adequada para este propósito, além de ser relativamente rápida, de baixo custo e de não sofrer interferência de componentes da matriz. Também foi útil na identificação do aldicarb em outros tipos de amostras, como alimentos e iscas. Assim, o presente estudo mostrou que o aldicarb é realmente o principal agente utilizado na cidade de São Paulo para intoxicar animais de companhia e ofereceu condições para se firmar o diagnóstico dos casos de intoxicação por este agente, através do estudo dos dados contidos no histórico e das alterações post mortem macroscópicas, além da utilização de um método analítico eficiente para a sua identificação / Pesticides are the main cause of poisoning in human beings and in wild and domestic animals. Preliminary data suggest that the carbamate insecticide aldicarb, illegally sold in São Paulo city as rat poison, has also been used for intentional poisoning of dogs and cats. The Service of Necropsy, Department of Pathology of School of Veterinary Medicine, University of São Paulo has often been registered cases of aldicarb poisoning in companion animals. The present study concerns a retrospective evaluation of all 1633 autopsies performed by that Service from 1999 to 2003. In this period, 234 cases of dog or cat poisoning were identified and reviewed with emphasis on characterization of post mortem findings as well as identification of aldicarb residues using thin-layer chromatography. In the current series poisonings represented 14.3% of causes of death (9.8% in dogs and 31.8% in cats). The main agent was aldicarb (214 cases) responsible for 89.0% of the intoxications in dogs and 94.4% in cats. Other agents were anti-coagulants (9.4% in dogs and 0.9% in cats), sodium monofluoracetate (1.6% in dogs) and no specified organic solvent(4.7% in cats). All animals poisoned with aldicarb had dark granules in the gastric content. The most commonly affected organs were lung (91.1% with hemorrhage, edema and/or congestion), liver (64.0% with congestion) and kidney (43.4% with congestion). The thin-layer chromatography was positive in all samples of animals poisoned with aldicarb. This technique showed to be an efficient, fast and not expensive qualitative method for the detection of aldicarb in samples of gastric content, being useful for this purpose in others types of samples like foods and baits. The present study confirms that the aldicarb is the principal cause of poisoning in companion animals in the city of Sao Paulo and the detection of this pesticide is possible using the clinical history, the study of post mortem alterations and an analytical method like thin-layer chromatography

No description available.

A intoxicação intencional de animais e de pessoas é uma ameaça à saúde e à segurança públicas em todo o mundo. No Brasil, os pesticidas da classe dos carbamatos aldicarbe e carbofurano são facilmente obtidos, e uma única dose letal daqueles é facilmente misturada a alimentos palatáveis e iscas. Foram analisadas as necropsias de 26 gatos e 10 cães, da rotina do Serviço de Patologia Animal da FMVZ-USP, com variados intervalos post mortem e tipos de conservação de carcaça, intoxicados pelos carbamatos aldicarbe e carbofurano, confirmados pela cromatografia de camada delgada (CCD) e cromatografia líquida de alta performance com detector de arranjo de diodos (CLAE-DAD). Foram colhidas as matrizes biológicas para histopatologia e análise toxicológica. CLAE-DAD foi utilizada para detectar o aldicarbe e seus metabólitos, aldicarbe sulfóxido e aldicarbe sulfona, e carbofurano e seu metabólito 3-hidroxicarbofurano. As análises macroscópica e histopatológica revelaram predominantemente achados congestivos e hemorrágicos, o que pode ser resultante dos efeitos tóxicos dos carbamatos e seus metabólitos. Foram feitos 2 experimentos envolvendo exposição a uma dose única de carbofurano e de aldicarbe via gavagem em ratos Wistar. No primeiro, no qual foram avaliados os efeitos no post mortem imediato, 30 animais forma separados nos seguintes grupos: aldicarbe (n=10), carbofurano (n=10) e grupo controle (n=10). Os animais foram filmados para avaliar as alterações clínicas na intoxicação aguda e, quando foram sedados, foi colhido sangue por punção cardíaca para fazer o hemograma, bioquímica sérica, colinesterase e exame toxicológico e, após a eutanásia, foi feita a necropsia e colhido material para o exame histopatológico. Em todos os animais experimentais foi possível ser feita a detecção e a quantificação do aldicarbe e do carbofurano, além das alterações microscópicas congestivas e hemorrágicas, com alterações em parâmetros hematológicos e bioquímicos. No segundo experimento, foram utilizados 30 animais, e o protocolo experimental foi idêntico ao experimento anterior, exceto que, após o óbito, os animais foram colocados em uma caixa com terra nos seguintes grupos: 1 dia, 3 dias, 5 dias, 7 dias e 10 dias, e em cada dia foram agrupados 2 animais intoxicados e 1 controle, sendo que as necropsias foram feitas nestes intervalos. Foram colhidos cérebro, pulmão, fígado e rim ao exame histopatológico e globo ocular, conteúdo gástrico, fígado e músculo esquelético ao exame toxicológico. Foram observadas as alterações tanatológicas e, em todas as matrizes analisadas, puderam ser quantificados o aldicarbe e/ou seus metabólitos aldicarbe sulfóxido e aldicarbe sulfona, bem como o carbofurano e seu metabólito 3-hidroxicarbofurano. Estes estudos mostram a importância da necropsia e da coleta de matrizes diversas ao exame toxicológico, que são complementares e cruciais na investigação de óbitos decorrentes de intoxicações por praguicidas, tanto no post mortem imediato quanto em exumações / The intentional poisoning of animals and people is a threat to public health and safety worldwide. In Brazil, the carbamate pesticides aldicarb and carbofuran are easily obtained. A single lethal dose of these carbamates is easily mixed with palatable food or baits. Necropsies and histopathological examinations of 26 cats and 10 dogs poisoned by the carbamates aldicarb and carbofuran were performed in the Service of Animal Pathology of FMVZ-USP, and the poisoning was confirmed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD), with variable post mortem interval and conservation of the carcass. Biological matrices were collected for histopathological and toxicological analysis. HPLC-DAD was utilised to detect aldicarb and its metabolites, aldicarb sulphoxide and aldicarb sulphone, and carbofuran and its metabolite 3-hydroxycarbofuran. Gross and histopathological evaluations showed mainly congestive and haemorrhagic findings, which may result from the toxic effects of the carbamates and their metabolites. Two experimental protocols were performed in Wistar rats by exposing them to a single oral gavage dose to the carbamates aldicarb and carbofuran. The first experiment was performed to evaluate the immediate post mortem effects of carbamates, and 30 rats were divided into three groups: aldicarb (n-=10), carbofuran (n=10) and control (n=10). The animals were filmed to evaluate the clinical signs of poisoning, and they were sedated to collect blood by heart puncture, to perform CBC, serum biochemistry, and to measure serum cholinesterase. After euthanasia, tissues were collected for histopathological evaluation. Aldicarb and carbofuran were detected and quantified in the blood of all experimental groups, and the most common histological changes observed were congestion and haemorrhage. In the second experiment, the experimental protocol was identical to the first one, but the animals were buried in a plastic box with garden soil within 5 groups of 3 animals, two exposed to the same pesticide and 1 control, as follows: day 1, day 3, day 5, day 7 and day 10. The exhumations were performed within these days (1, 3, 5, 7 and 10). We collected brain, lung, liver and kidney to examine the thanatological changes, and the eyeballs, gastric content, liver and skeletal muscle to perform the toxicological screening. Thanatological changes could be observed within and between the groups, and, in all the matrices we could detect aldicarb and its metabolites aldicarb sulphoxide and aldicarb sulphone, and carbofuran and its metabolite 3-hydroxycarbofuran. The studies have shown the importance of the necropsy and the collection of diverse matrices to the toxicological screening, because both are complementary and crucial to the investigation of deaths by pesticides poisoning, even in exhumation, since we could evaluate the thanatological changes and correlate them to the action of the pesticides in the tissues

A intoxicação intencional de animais e de pessoas é uma ameaça à saúde e à segurança públicas em todo o mundo. No Brasil, os pesticidas da classe dos carbamatos aldicarbe e carbofurano são facilmente obtidos, e uma única dose letal daqueles é facilmente misturada a alimentos palatáveis e iscas. Foram analisadas as necropsias de 26 gatos e 10 cães, da rotina do Serviço de Patologia Animal da FMVZ-USP, com variados intervalos post mortem e tipos de conservação de carcaça, intoxicados pelos carbamatos aldicarbe e carbofurano, confirmados pela cromatografia de camada delgada (CCD) e cromatografia líquida de alta performance com detector de arranjo de diodos (CLAE-DAD). Foram colhidas as matrizes biológicas para histopatologia e análise toxicológica. CLAE-DAD foi utilizada para detectar o aldicarbe e seus metabólitos, aldicarbe sulfóxido e aldicarbe sulfona, e carbofurano e seu metabólito 3-hidroxicarbofurano. As análises macroscópica e histopatológica revelaram predominantemente achados congestivos e hemorrágicos, o que pode ser resultante dos efeitos tóxicos dos carbamatos e seus metabólitos. Foram feitos 2 experimentos envolvendo exposição a uma dose única de carbofurano e de aldicarbe via gavagem em ratos Wistar. No primeiro, no qual foram avaliados os efeitos no post mortem imediato, 30 animais forma separados nos seguintes grupos: aldicarbe (n=10), carbofurano (n=10) e grupo controle (n=10). Os animais foram filmados para avaliar as alterações clínicas na intoxicação aguda e, quando foram sedados, foi colhido sangue por punção cardíaca para fazer o hemograma, bioquímica sérica, colinesterase e exame toxicológico e, após a eutanásia, foi feita a necropsia e colhido material para o exame histopatológico. Em todos os animais experimentais foi possível ser feita a detecção e a quantificação do aldicarbe e do carbofurano, além das alterações microscópicas congestivas e hemorrágicas, com alterações em parâmetros hematológicos e bioquímicos. No segundo experimento, foram utilizados 30 animais, e o protocolo experimental foi idêntico ao experimento anterior, exceto que, após o óbito, os animais foram colocados em uma caixa com terra nos seguintes grupos: 1 dia, 3 dias, 5 dias, 7 dias e 10 dias, e em cada dia foram agrupados 2 animais intoxicados e 1 controle, sendo que as necropsias foram feitas nestes intervalos. Foram colhidos cérebro, pulmão, fígado e rim ao exame histopatológico e globo ocular, conteúdo gástrico, fígado e músculo esquelético ao exame toxicológico. Foram observadas as alterações tanatológicas e, em todas as matrizes analisadas, puderam ser quantificados o aldicarbe e/ou seus metabólitos aldicarbe sulfóxido e aldicarbe sulfona, bem como o carbofurano e seu metabólito 3-hidroxicarbofurano. Estes estudos mostram a importância da necropsia e da coleta de matrizes diversas ao exame toxicológico, que são complementares e cruciais na investigação de óbitos decorrentes de intoxicações por praguicidas, tanto no post mortem imediato quanto em exumações / The intentional poisoning of animals and people is a threat to public health and safety worldwide. In Brazil, the carbamate pesticides aldicarb and carbofuran are easily obtained. A single lethal dose of these carbamates is easily mixed with palatable food or baits. Necropsies and histopathological examinations of 26 cats and 10 dogs poisoned by the carbamates aldicarb and carbofuran were performed in the Service of Animal Pathology of FMVZ-USP, and the poisoning was confirmed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD), with variable post mortem interval and conservation of the carcass. Biological matrices were collected for histopathological and toxicological analysis. HPLC-DAD was utilised to detect aldicarb and its metabolites, aldicarb sulphoxide and aldicarb sulphone, and carbofuran and its metabolite 3-hydroxycarbofuran. Gross and histopathological evaluations showed mainly congestive and haemorrhagic findings, which may result from the toxic effects of the carbamates and their metabolites. Two experimental protocols were performed in Wistar rats by exposing them to a single oral gavage dose to the carbamates aldicarb and carbofuran. The first experiment was performed to evaluate the immediate post mortem effects of carbamates, and 30 rats were divided into three groups: aldicarb (n-=10), carbofuran (n=10) and control (n=10). The animals were filmed to evaluate the clinical signs of poisoning, and they were sedated to collect blood by heart puncture, to perform CBC, serum biochemistry, and to measure serum cholinesterase. After euthanasia, tissues were collected for histopathological evaluation. Aldicarb and carbofuran were detected and quantified in the blood of all experimental groups, and the most common histological changes observed were congestion and haemorrhage. In the second experiment, the experimental protocol was identical to the first one, but the animals were buried in a plastic box with garden soil within 5 groups of 3 animals, two exposed to the same pesticide and 1 control, as follows: day 1, day 3, day 5, day 7 and day 10. The exhumations were performed within these days (1, 3, 5, 7 and 10). We collected brain, lung, liver and kidney to examine the thanatological changes, and the eyeballs, gastric content, liver and skeletal muscle to perform the toxicological screening. Thanatological changes could be observed within and between the groups, and, in all the matrices we could detect aldicarb and its metabolites aldicarb sulphoxide and aldicarb sulphone, and carbofuran and its metabolite 3-hydroxycarbofuran. The studies have shown the importance of the necropsy and the collection of diverse matrices to the toxicological screening, because both are complementary and crucial to the investigation of deaths by pesticides poisoning, even in exhumation, since we could evaluate the thanatological changes and correlate them to the action of the pesticides in the tissues

Submitted by Reginaldo Soares de Freitas (reginaldo.freitas@ufv.br) on 2017-05-03T19:00:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 143842 bytes, checksum: fae2a0f2c5bfa6d6037c8c47f2dad1f9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-03T19:00:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 143842 bytes, checksum: fae2a0f2c5bfa6d6037c8c47f2dad1f9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2002-10-07 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A crescente necessidade por segurança ambiental quando enfrentando o problema advindo do controle de pragas tem levado a melhoria nas técnicas atualmente disponíveis para alcançar-se tal objetivo. Este estudo foi conduzido para avaliar a resposta de batata e soja à injúria ocasionada por insetos fitófagos e o impacto do aldicarbe sobre habitantes do solo em lavoura de café usando a análise por variáveis canônicas. Visando estudar a resposta das plantas à injúria por insetos, dois experimentos foram conduzidos em um campo comercial de batatas localizado no município de Kearney no centro sul do estado de Nebraska, EUA e em um campo experimental de soja localizado na Rosemount Research and Outreach Center, Universidade de Minnesota, Rosemount, MN, EUA. No campo de batata foram realizados experimentos em três épocas diferentes: 12-13/07/2001, 1- 2/08/2001, and 14-15/08/2001. O primeiro e o segundo experimentos foram representados por um fatorial de 3 (variedades - Russet Norkotah, Atlantic e Frito-Lays) x 2 (tratamentos – testemunhas com gaiola e folhas infestadas) e o terceiro foi um fatorial de 3 (variedades - Russet Norkotah, Atlantic e Frito-Lays) x 3 (tratamentos – testemunha com gaiola, testemunha sem gaiola e folhas infestadas), em ambos os casos sendo os tratamentos dispostos no delineamento em blocos ao acaso com oito repetições. No campo de soja, o experimento foi composto de três tratamentos os quais foram: níveis de infestação baixo, intermediário e alto, sendo estes analisados como delineamento inteiramente ao acaso com oito repetições. Foram medidas as trocas gasosas das plantas de batata e soja, fluorescência e proporções de isótopos estáveis de carbono de plantas de soja em resposta á injúria ocasionada pelo gafanhoto de perna vermelha (Melanoplus femurrubrum Orthoptera: Acrididae) e pelo pulgão da soja (Aphis glycines Homoptera: Aphididae), respectivamente. Os gafanhotos não afetaram as trocas gasosas das plantas de batata (quando as taxas de injúria estavam entre 10-25%). As plantas de soja apresentaram reduções nas trocas gasosas de mais de 50% nos folíolos infestados, porém não alteraram os parâmetros de fluorescência. Visando estudar o impacto do aldicarbe sobre artrópodos do solo de café, conduziu-se um experimento em um cafezal da Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brasil, o qual foi composto por três tratamentos (controle, uma aplicação de 10 g de Temik 150/planta e duas aplicações de 10 g de Temik 150/planta) e quatro blocos, avaliados uma data antes da aplicação do inseticida e 13 datas após a aplicação do inseticida. Verificou-se que impacto do aldicarb sobre a abundância da comunidade de artrópodos do solo de café visualizada através do padrão diferencial de dispersão adotado pelas parcelas controle quando comparadas com as parcelas tratadas uma e duas vezes com aldicarb. As parcelas que receberam uma e duas aplicações de aldicarb não difereriram entre si. A principal espécie impactada foi Acarinae: morfoespécie 4. KEY WORDS: Trocas gasosas, interação inseto-planta, ecotoxicologia, técnicas multivariadas, aldicarbe. / The growing need for environmental safety when dealing with pest control has led to the improvement of the approaches currently available to achieve this goal. In such context, methods that tend to envision pest problem in a more balanced way has gained importance. This study was carried out to evaluate soybean and potato response to the injury of phytophagous insects and the aldicarb impact over the inner coffee soil dwellers. To study plant response to insect injury two experiments were carried out: the first one was run on a potato field at Kearney County in south-central Nebraska, USA, and the second one was done on a soybean field at the University of Minnesota Rosemount Research and Outreach Center, Rosemount, MN, USA. On the potato field, it was carried out experiments in three different times: 07/12-13/2001, 08/1-2/2001, and 08/14-15/2001. The first and second one were represented by a 3 (varieties - Russet Norkotah, Atlantic and a Frito-Lays proprietary cultivar) x 2 (treatments – caged control and infested leaves) factorial and the third one was a 3 (varieties - Russet Norkotah, Atlantic and a Frito-Lays proprietary cultivar) x 3 (treatments – caged control, uncaged control and infested leaves) factorial, in both cases being the treatments arranged in randomized blocks with eight replicates. On the soybean field, the experiment envisioned three treatments which were low, intermediate and high aphid infestation levels which were arranged in randomized blocks with eight replicates. It was measured the potato gas exchange response and the soybean gas exchange, fluorescence, and stable carbon isotope ratio response to the redlegged grasshopper (Melanoplus femurrubrum Orthoptera: Acrididae) and soybean aphid (Aphis glycines Homoptera: Aphididae), respectively. With injury rates of about 10- 25% the potato gas exchange was not affected by the grasshopper. Soybean plants showed reductions of up to 50% on the gas exchange parameters of infested leaflets but did not alter the fluorescence parameters. To study the aldicarb impact over coffee soil arthropods, it was set up an experiment in a coffee plantation at the Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brasil, with three treatments (control, one application of 10 g of Temik 150 (aldicarb)/plant and two applications of 10 g of Temik 150/plant) and four blocks, sampled one day before insecticide application and 13 different times after the insecticide application. There was significant effect of aldicarb application on the abundance of coffee soil arthropods based on different dispersion pattern of the control plots on the canonical axis when compared to plots treated once and twice with aldicarb. The plots which received one and two aldicarb applications did not differ significantly. The main species affected was mite morphspecies 4. KEY WORDS: Gas-exchange, insect-plant relationship, ecotoxicology, multivariate techniques, aldicarb.

Worldwide, pesticides are applied to protect crops against insects, fungi and other parasites. Without these chemicals it would not be possible to produce sufficient food to satisfy the demand of an ever-increasing world population. Unfortunately, many cases of accidental and intentional poisoning of humans and animals occur and the objectives of this study were to obtain statistics of aldicarb poisoning in companion animals in Gauteng Province and to evaluate hydroxypropyl-<font face="symbol">b</font>-cyclodextrin as a potential treatment. Cyclodextrins are ring-shaped oligosaccharides with a hydrophilic exterior and a hydrophobic interior. The interior cavity is capable of complexing fat-soluble molecules small enough to fit inside. Aldicarb is moderately lipid-soluble, non-ionized and of low molecular weight and thus fits all criteria for complexation with cyclodextrin. Questionnaires were posted to all private practitioners in Gauteng. The survey was designed to determine the percentage of aldicarb cases seen, clinical signs observed, treatment regimen, proposals for preventative actions and more effective treatments. Other questions included duration of treatment, survival rate, cost to client, post-mortem findings and reasons for poisonings. Thirty-four percent of respondants indicated the total number of all clinical cases presented at their practices during 2003. The percentage of suspected aldicarb cases as a proportion of all cases ranged from 0.05 - 2.6 % for dogs and 0.09 - 3.33 % for cats. Only 26.5 % of practitioners sometimes submitted samples for laboratory confirmation of aldicarb poisoning. Salivation and tremors were the most common clinical signs observed by private practitioners and the majority of suspected poisoning cases were treated with atropine, intravenous fluid and electrolyte therapy and the oral administration of activated charcoal. Thirty-three respondents thought that there was an increase in the number of aldicarb cases, but 35 felt there was no increase during 2003. Fifteen respondents were reluctant to venture an opinion. Most veterinarians indicated that criminal intent was the main reason why animals were poisoned and 95 % of respondents reported that it occurred throughout the year, but an increased incidence was observed during holiday periods.Survival times in the majority of rats dosed with aldicarb and receiving intravenous cyclodextrin were longer, compared to the control rats only dosed with aldicarb per os. Rats receiving cyclodextrin immediately before aldicarb, survived longer when compared to rats, which received aldicarb prior to cyclodextrin. / Dissertation (MSc (Paraclinical Sciences))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Paraclinical Sciences / unrestricted

No description available.

Historically, most twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, infestations occurred during the late season near maturity, but since 2005, infestations of cotton have become more common throughout the entire season. Several factors may have contributed to the increasing frequency of mites in seedling cotton, one of which is a shift in production practices from furrow applied aldicarb to neonicotinoid seed treatments for thrips control. Another factor that may impact T. urticae densities in seedling cotton is a shift from pre-plant tillage to conservation tillage or no-till cropping systems. Although the literature confirms that T. urticae can cause extensive cotton yield losses, there is a need to further refine potential late-season yield loss. From 2007 to 2009 a series of experiments were conducted to address these issues. In a series of 12 field experiments, neonicotinoid seed treatments resulted in twospotted spider mite densities greater than those in the untreated check, aldicarb, and acephate treatments. Untreated check and aldicarb treatments had the lowest mite densities. Only aldicarb controlled mites compared to the untreated check. A twospotted spider mite host survey determined that henbit, Lamium amplexicaule L., was the most consistent and preferred host. Carolina geranium, Geranium carolinianum L., cutleaf geranium, Geranium dissectum L., vetch, Vicia spp., volunteer soybean, Glycine max L., purple deadnettle, Lamium purpureum L., and spiny sowthistle, Sonchus asper (L.) Hill, were other frequently infested dicotyledonous species. Herbicide burndown timing in reduced tillage cotton production was not critical, given all weeds were killed before cotton was planted. The herbicide glufosinate was efficacious against T. urticae, providing control equal to low- to mid-rates of labeled acaricides. Including glufosinate in a herbicide burndown program was only beneficial for mite control if living weeds were present at planting. Artificial infestation experiments were adversely affected by unseasonably wet and cool weather. Infestations established at the third true leaf resulted in an average yield loss of 44.7%. It is difficult to make any conclusions about infestations made from first bloom and later because of the difficulty in establishing mite populations later in the season.

Estuaries, an important facet of coastal regions, are highly productive natural systems, frequently acting as drainage basins for various pollutants such as agricultural runoff. The estuarine grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, has been shown to be a sensitive indicator of pesticide exposure. In this study, emphasis was placed on the quantification of the lethal and sublethal effects of aldicarb on three different life stages of P. pugio. Acute 96-h toxicity tests were conducted with newly hatched larvae, 22-d old larvae and adult grass shrimp to determine lethal toxicant ranges. LC₅₀ values were 85.0 ug/L for newly hatched larvae, 70.7 ug/L for 22-d old larvae and 125.4 ug/L for adults. The impact of aldicarb on specific neurological functions in the grass shrimp was examined using an acetylcholinesterase assay. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity was reduced in the larvae after exposure to acute concentrations of aldicarb. Mean whole-body AChE activity for the newly hatched and 22-d larvae was significantly lower from the controls (P=0.009). Conversely, mean whole body AChE activity in the adult shrimp was not significantly different from the controls at any concentration (P=0.401), although there was a trend towards reduced activity at 50 and 100 ug/L exposures. A behavioral study was conducted to examine the ability of adult grass shrimp to detect and avoid aldicarb-treated seawater. Behavioral responses were measured in a modified steep gradient chamber. A partition divided the chamber, creating three distinct areas: 1) seawater 2) aldicarb-treated seawater and 3) mixing. There were significant differences between the control and exposed adult shrimp in the amount of time spent in the mixing area (P<0.05). Aldicarb exposed shrimp spent, on the average, 20% more time in the mixing area than the controls. Additionally, exposed shrimp spent significantly more time facing downstream, away from the toxicant source (P<0.05). Exposed shrimp displayed increasing hyperactivity and attempted to jump out of the chamber. / Master of Science

The increased use of pesticides has resulted in a corresponding increase in concern for the effect they may have on the health of humans and other non-target organisms. The two main areas of concern are the toxicological effects that mixtures of pesticides may have as well as the endocrine disrupting effects. Although the individual pesticides may be present at concentrations below the levels deemed to be detrimental to health, it has been argued that their combined effect may still result in elevated health risks. Another important aspect of pesticide risk assessment requires a consideration of the breakdown products of pesticides and their effect on human health. There has been very little research into the effects of degradation products and this issue should be addressed as these could potentially pose a higher risk than their parent compounds. One of the most important bio-markers available for use is the ubiquitous enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE). This enzyme is responsible for one of the most important functions in the body; namely nerve impulse transmission, upon which all life depends. The inhibition of this enzyme indicates toxicity and as a subsequence, a threat to the organism’s well-being. Bioassays have also recently been developed to test chemicals for endocrine disrupting effects. These tests rely on a dose response equivalent to that of the most potent well known estrogen 17-β estradiol. Any chemical that has a measurable response is deemed to display endocrine disrupting effects. This first aim of this study was to investigate the toxicological and endocrine disrupting effects of three organophosphorus pesticides; aldicarb, parathion and demeton-S-methyl, in addition to two breakdown products; aminophenol and p-nitrophenol. Two carbamate pesticides; carbaryl and carbofuran were also analysed. The toxicological effects of mixtures of the parent pesticide compounds were tested to assess if any antagonistic, additive or synergistic effects were observed. This data was then used in conjunction with an artificial neural network to assess if individual pesticides could be distinguished from mixtures of pesticides. A final objective was to sample various Eastern Cape water sources, utilising the enzymatic assay to determine the presence of any of these pesticides in these samples. There were several conclusions drawn from this study. AChE was successfully used as an assay to test the toxicity of the pesticides under investigation, based on their inhibition of this enzyme. An important factor for consideration throughout the study was the need to establish basal and monitor AChE activity (i.e. the need to monitor AChE activity in the absence of any pesticide). This ensured accurate comparison of the results obtained. It was found that demeton-S-methyl was the most potent of these pesticides followed by carbaryl, parathion, aldicarb and finally carbofuran, and that carbofuran could potentiate AChE. The results indicated that pesticide mixtures generally exhibited an additive inhibitory effect on AChE, although at some concentrations of pesticides, synergistic and antagonistic effects were noted. From the data using mixtures of pesticides, a feed forward neural network was created that was successfully able to distinguish individual pesticides from mixtures within its training parameters. None of the pesticides tested displayed endocrine disrupting properties in the Yeast Estrogen Screen (YES), T47D-KBluc and MDA-kb2 bio-assays. Other studies reported mixed results in this regard and thus no final conclusions could be drawn. The Blaauwkrantz River, Kariega River, Sundays River, Swartkops River and Kowie River were all tested for pesticides and although positive results were recorded, conventional methods indicated that there were no pesticides in the rivers. There were, however, trace metals present which are known to inhibit AChE, thus causing a false positive result. These results indicated that AChE can be used as a high throughput initial pre-screening tool, but that it cannot serve as a substitute for more accurate conventional testing methods.