Methods: We carried out fogging with Pyrethroid insecticide (Detral 2.5 EC) at 10 different sites in a forest situated in the state of Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia. Across the sites, we counted the numbers of knocked-down invertebrates and identified them based on morphology to different taxa. We constructed Bayesian hierarchical Poisson regression models to investigate the effects of fogging on: (1) a target invertebrate taxon (Diptera) 3-h post-fogging; (2) selected non-target invertebrate taxa 3-h post-fogging; and (3) an invertebrate pollinator taxon (Lepidoptera) 24-h post-fogging.
Results: A total of 1,874 invertebrates from 19 invertebrate orders were knocked down by the fogging treatment across the 10 sites. Furthermore, 72.7% of the invertebrates counted 3-h post-fogging was considered dead. Our regression models showed that given the data and prior information, the probability that fogging had a negative effect on invertebrate taxa 3-h post-fogging was 100%, with reductions to 11% of the pre-fogging count of live individuals for the target invertebrate taxon (Diptera), and between 5% and 58% of the pre-fogging count of live individuals for non-target invertebrate taxa. For the invertebrate pollinator, the probability that fogging had a negative effect 24-h post-fogging was also 100%, with reductions to 53% of the pre-fogging count of live individuals.
Discussion: Our Bayesian models unequivocally demonstrate that fogging has detrimental effects on one pollinator order and non-target invertebrate orders, especially taxa that have comparatively lower levels of chitinisation. While fogging is effective in killing the target order (Diptera), no mosquitos were found dead in our experiment. In order to maintain urban biodiversity, we recommend that health authorities and the private sector move away from persistent insecticide fogging and to explore alternative measures to control adult mosquito populations.
METHODS: Blood from 30 patients with primary OSCC and 1:1 age-sex-matched controls was subjected to qPCR and ELISA to detect VEGF-A gene expression and serum level. Tumors of the 30 patients were investigated for VEGF Receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) expression and were analyzed using Image J software version 1.52 for DAB percentage (DAB-P) area and optical density (OD).
RESULTS: VEGF-A relative gene expression among patients was 2.43-fold higher compared to the healthy control group. Well-differentiated had a 1.98-fold increment, while poorly differentiated had a 3.58-fold increment. Serum VEGF-A was significantly elevated among the patients compared to controls (458.7 vs 253.2, p=0.0225). Poorly differentiated had a higher serum VEGF concentration (1262.0±354.7pg/ml) compared with other two. Mean VEGFR-2 DAB-P level in OSCC was 42.41±5.61(p=0.15). Well-differentiated had a DAB-P of 41.20±5.32 while poorly differentiated had DAB-P 46.21±3.78. The mean OD in OSCC was 0.54±0.16. VEGFR-2 OD in well and poorly differentiated OSCC were 0.48±0.12 and 0.68±0.17, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: VEGF-A gene expression, serum levels, and tissue VEGFR-2 levels correlated linearly with the stage and grade of the tumor. This study justifies the value of VEGF-A as a potential biomarker in OSCC in early detection of OSCC. More studies are needed to accept the use of VEGF-A.