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Rhipicephalus sanguineus, commonly known as brown dog tick is a widespread species with considerable public health and economic importance. Tremendous efforts were performed to control the tick populations with the concern of resistance build-up and environmental issues. Alternative towards microbial control thus emerged as one option to reduce tick populations. In this study, the ovicidal efficacy of a native isolate entomopathogenic hyphomycetes fungi, Metarhizium anisopliae strain HSAH5 was evaluated against eggs of R. sanguineus. Spray applications with three different conidial concentrations of 105, 106 and 107 conidia mL-1; 40 ppm of Flumethrin and a negative control. The M. anisopliae strain was found highly virulent to R. sanguineus eggs by reducing the hatching percentages to ≈30% compared with 8.9% in Flumethrin eggs. The result showed a significantly higher mortality in M. anisopliae group than those of the control groups (F = 42.08, df = 32, P < 0.001) at 30 days post-infection. However, there are no significant differences within the M. anisopliae group, in which the mortality between different conidial concentrations is almost the same. The estimated LC50 of M. anisopliae against eggs of R. sanguineus is 1.36 × 103 conidia ml-1. Thus, these results suggest M. anisopliae strain HSAH5 could be a potential biocontrol agent of R. sanguineus in the integrated approach to managing ticks in the residential landscape by targeting on the eggs.

Tick-borne pathogens are causing severe diseases in livestock, wild animals, and humans. Wild animals play a crucial role in tick-borne pathogens' transmission life cycle by serving as reservoir hosts or intermediate hosts, posing a continuous risk for domestic animals and humans. The presence of tick-borne pathogens is often ignored in wild animals kept in zoos, which is a public health concern. In the present study, we investigated these pathogens in tick-infested captive wild animals at the Lohi Bher zoo, Pakistan. Blood samples were collected from 22 animals, which include urials (4) (Ovis aries vignei), blackbucks (3) (Antilope cervicapra), fallow deer (1) (Dama dama), hog deer (6) (Axis porcinus), chinkaras (4) (Gazella bennettii), white tiger (2) (Panthera tigris tigris), a giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), and African lions (2) (Panthera leo). The samples were screened for Piroplasm and Anaplasma spp. by polymerase chain reaction targeting different gene loci. We detected three Theileria spp. and one Anaplasma sp. from the investigated captive wild animals. The Theileria sp. dama gazelle was detected from chinkara, Theileria sp. NG-2012b from chinkara and giraffe and T. parva from African lion, and Anaplasma bovis was identified in a giraffe. Moreover, Theileria sp. and Anaplasma sp. coinfection was detected in one giraffe. Overall, this study shows that Theileria spp. and Anaplasma spp. are circulating in captive wild animals, which can play an important role in their spread. Further studies are required to monitor tick-borne pathogens in zoo animals and their potential to spread from exotic wild captive animals to local wild and domestic.

According to the WHO there are more than 700,000 deaths every year involving vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, Chagas disease, yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis. Aedes aegypti, the principal vector of the dengue virus, is of great concern in various parts of the world, especially in tropical and subtropical countries. Vector control through insecticide application is one of the best ways to control the disease’s transmission. Thus, insecticide resistance in Ae. aegypti poses a significant threat to public health worldwide. The use of plant natural product-based insecticides that are less harmful to the environment, and without known resistance development, constitutes an alternative to chemical insecticides. Given this, a methanolic extract from Vitex ovata plants was prepared and tested for its larvicidal effect against Ae. aegypti. A susceptibility test on Ae. aegypti larvae was conducted using the standard WHO method. Results showed that the methanolic extract of V. ovata had larvicidal activity against Ae. aegypti with LC50 values of 2114 mg/L, and achieved 84% mortality with the highest concentration at 10,000 mg/L. This study showed that the crude extract of V. ovata bioactive molecules could be potentially developed as biolarvicides for Aedes mosquito vector control. This study recommends future research on using different solvents in the isolation of active ingredients from V. ovata, identification of phytochemicals with larvicidal properties, a toxicity study and lastly, an evaluation of the effectiveness of controlling Aedes in small-scale field trials for environmentally safe botanical insecticide intervention.

The Ocimum Tingid, Cochlochila bullita (Stal) (Hemiptera: Tingidae) is an important Hemipteran pest for various economically important plants. This study focused on assessing the feeding injury caused by C. bullita on Cat’s whiskers, Orthosiphon aristatus (Blume) Miq. and Sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum Linnaeus. The injured area and number of faecal spots on the leaves caused by C. bullita were recorded. Leaves chlorophyll content were measured to examine the effect of C. bullita feeding on the leaf chlorophyll content. Result showed that feeding occurred on both sides of the leaves and the damages were clearly apparent on the upper leaf surface. The injured area was more in O. aristatus, 12.89 ± 0.52% compared to O. basilicum, 5.85 ± 0.37%. Chlorophyll reduction in infested O. aristatus was also more, with −6.40 ± 0.17 μg / cm2 compared to O. basilicum with only −3.13 ± 0.11 μg / cm2 after 3 days of infestation. Oviposition of C. bullita into midribs were observed and it nearly blocked the vascular tissues. However, these insertions seemed not to harm the plant in short-term, but damage occurs when the nymphs hatch and feed the plants. Overall, O. aristatus seems to be less tolerant to C. bullita infestation as compared to O. basilicum. Beyond the aesthetic damage caused by C. bullita on O. arisatus, severe reduction of chlorophyll due to feeding-induced stress complicated the physiological process of the plant.

Biofilms-related infections are recognized to be one important aspect of human and animal health. In humans, the burden of biofilms-associated infections is particularly important in hospitalized and immunosusceptible patients. In animals, the biofilms-related infections are increasingly recognized in livestock animals as the biofilms can cause persistent infections and continue to cause profit losses to the farmers. Additionally, in zoonotic diseases, the transmission of the biofilms-producing bacteria provides another challenge for prevention and control of the associated diseases, as the biofilms-forming bacteria can survive in the environment and increasing chances to enter the food chain. In this chapter, we highlighted the main burden of biofilms-related infections in humans and animals, with the latter focusing on the livestock and zoonoses disease. This Chapter intends to provide the reader on general overview and understanding the burden of biofilms-related infections in humans and animals.

Nanomaterials are defined as materials that possess at least one of the external dimensions or internal structure within the size range of 1–100 nm. Over the past few years, nanotechnology and nanomaterials have been identified as potential tools in agricultural sector to regulate plant growth and improve its genetics as well as its use as pesticides and biosensors. The unique properties of nanomaterials have been employed to improve plant production via nano-sensors, nano-fertilizers, and nano-pesticides. Nanomaterials are very useful and vital owing to their unique physicochemical properties and wide range of applications in numerous sectors. Nevertheless, at the same time, it may impose some hazards and negative effects to human health, plants, and even environment. Therefore, specific legislations or guidance are necessary to make sure these materials will be applied safely or at a permissible level. This chapter discusses the types of application of nanomaterials in the agriculture sector and plant production. The potential impacts that might impose to the environment are also reviewed. Lastly, the existing regulations and policies in both EU and non-EU regions are also presented to provide an overview on the risk management and assessment of nanomaterials in agriculture sector.

Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) theileri is a non-pathogenic or weakly pathogenic parasite of domestic cattle that is cyclically transmitted by blood-sucking insects, mainly tabanid flies. It has been reported in several countries like Brazil, Venezuela, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Although the ruminant industry is actively expanded in Malaysia, T. theileri and T. theileri-like trypanosomes have never been reported from Malaysia. The low pathogenicity of this species might be the main reason for overlooking T. theileri in this country. This paper describes an unforeseen finding of T. theileri from the outbreak of T. evansi in the state of Kelantan, Malaysia. This is the first time T. theileri reported in Malaysia, and also the first time T. theileri is reported in equid. Clinical signs compatible with infection by blood protozoa were observed; however, it was uncertain whether they were due to T. theileri infection. The detection of T. theileri from the blood sample and Tabanus sp. were confirmed through molecular analysis with PCR and DNA sequencing. In the present study, T. theileri from one horse and one Tabanus sp. were clustered with sequences of the previously described phylogenetic lineages from Japan, Chad and Brazil cattle. Even though this species is claimed to be host-specific with ruminant host restriction, the finding from this study suggested that T. theileri can infect equine whilst other isolates are known to infect ruminant species only. It is suspected there were two genotypes of T. theileri circulating in at least two districts of Kelantan. Thus, further study on multiple DNA regions should be conducted to determine the strains of detected T. theileri in Malaysia. Its impact on the horse and cattle industry should also be revised.

The entomopathogenic fungus Isaria fumosorosea Wize, formerly known as Paecilomyces fumosoroseus is reported as a promising biocontrol agent for controlling subterranean termites, particularly those belonging to the family Rhinotermitidae. In Malaysia, the family Rhinotermitidae includes two species of subterranean termites with extremely high economic importance; namely Coptotermes curvignathus Holmgren, and the Asian Subterranean Termite (Coptotermes gestroi Wasmann). To comprehend the potential control of this soil-dwelling fungus against these subterranean termites in Malaysia, an investigation was carried out by testing the pathogenecity of 11 isolates against these termite species. All isolates showed pathogenic potential against the termite (Mortality rate of C. curvignathus: 84.4%; C. gestroi: 67.3%). Isolate PF49 was the most effective against both species of termites and was further tested for its virulence and mycosis. The LC50 values of PF49 against C. curvignathus and C. gestroi were 7.55 × 103 and 1.09 × 102 conidia/ml, respectively. The average number of days required to complete the mycosis process in C. curvignathus and C. gestroi were 4.7 and 8 days, respectively. These fungi are believed useful for protecting living trees, plants, wood, wood structures, and other cellulosic materials susceptible to termite infestation and damage.

Background Coconut is an important commodity in Kelantan, and pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) have been traditionally used for coconut-plucking for over a century. Most of these animals were sourced from the wild population, and the parasitic status of these macaques is unknown, plus the impacts caused by these parasites are usually underestimated by the owners. Methods A total of 30 macaques were sampled for blood, faeces and hair plucks to detect parasite. Results Out of 21 faecal samples examined, 11 (52%) were determined positive for one or more gastrointestinal parasites, namely Trichostrongylus spp., Strongyloides spp., Anatrichosoma spp., Capillaria spp., Trichuris spp. and Paramphisotomum spp. Filaria was detected in one (3%) of the blood samples. For ectoparasites, only lice, Pedicinus sp., were found in 9 (30%) macaques. Conclusions It is imperative that the parasitic status of these animals be determined so that necessary actions and preventive measures can be implemented to prevent zoonotic transmissions.

The increasing incidence of antibiotic resistance strains in Aeromonas hydrophila is due to extensive antimicrobial usage by human and fish farms for treatment and disease prevention. Multiple antibiotic resistance phenotypes among bacteria have been shown to be attributed to integrons. Forty strains of A. hydrophila isolated from freshwater fish were investigated for antibiotic sensitivity and plasmid profiling. Ten antibiotics were used, namely penicillin G, cephalotin, florfenicol, streptomycin, kanamycin, erythromycin, ampicillin, gentamicin, oxytetracycline and tetracycline. Polymerase chain reaction was carried out to detect integrase genes Int1, Int2 and Int3, gene cassette array, integron-associated aadA, sul1 and qac1 genes, streptomycin resistance genes strA-strB, β-lactamase resistance genes blaTEM and blaSHV, and tetracycline resistance genes tetA-E and tetM. As a result, A. hydrophila was sensitive to erythromycin, florfenicol, kanamycin and oxytetracycline, while the bacteria were resistant to cephalotin, gentamycin and penicillin G. In this present study, 12 out of 40 isolates contain plasmid size ranging from 6 to 23 kb. The intl1 gene was detected in 50% (20/40) of A. hydrophila strains, but no isolates contain intl2 and intl3. No gene cassette was detected from all the A. hydrophila isolates. Different tetracycline resistance genes (tetA and tetC) and aadA genes were detected. The detection of antibiotic resistance genes in A. hydrophila has public health and environmental concern.

Information on the immature stages of Zyganidae moths is rather limited compared to that on the adults. An encounter with the caterpillars on the Baccaurea motleyana tree enabled a description of the eggs, final-instar caterpillar and characteristic cocoon of the Chalcosiine Day-flying Moth, Cyclosia macularia Guerin-Meneville, accompanied by illustrations. Sexual dimorphism of this species based on the adults is also described.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:411550D6-FC0F-45BA-A2D2-770757E3F009

The occurrence of Setaria digitata in a horse is reported for the first time in Malaysia. An 8-year-old Thoroughbred cross mare was referred to the University Veterinary Clinic with the primary complaint of corneal opacity and excessive eye discharge. After initial treatment with Terramycin eye ointment, corneal opacity cleared partially to reveal a moving thread-like cylindrical worm in the anterior chamber of the eye. The parasite was successfully removed surgically, and examination under the light microscope revealed that the isolated worm (length = 45 mm) was a 5th stage larva of S. digitata based on morphological criteria. Confirmation of the species of the worm was through molecular methods. The 12S rRNA gene was PCR-amplified, and the purified amplicon was directly sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the isolated roundworm showed 100% sequence similarity with that of S. digitata in NCBI GenBank database (Accession no.: KY284626.1). This report is the first confirmed case of equine ocular setariasis by S. digitata in Malaysia. The current study provides evidence that S. digitata is an etiological agent of ocular infection and its presence in Malaysia.

Vibriosis has become one of the most important bacterial diseases in marine cultured organisms in recent years. This study was focusing on isolation and identification of Vibrio spp. isolated from diseased seabass (Lates calcarifer), tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and seawater from Sri Tujuh lagoon in East Coast of Malaysia; also determination of antibiotic resistance patterns among Vibrio spp. Vibrio species isolated from diseased seabass in Pantai Sri Tujuh, Tumpat, Kelantan were screened for their antibiotic sensitivity patterns by Kirby-Bauer method. A total of 47 isolates belonging to three different species were identified which are V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus, and V. alginolyticus. In this study, high incidence of erythromycin, chloramphenicol and sulfamethoxazole resistance was observed among the Vibrio isolates, whereas all isolates were susceptible to oxytetracycline. Vibrio isolates were 96% resistant to one or more different classes of antibiotic, and 17 different resistance patterns were identified. The MAR index of 0.4 indicating the Vibrio spp. in these farmed fish might have been indiscriminately and continuously exposed to those antibiotics during culturing stages of the fish. This study showed that multidrug-resistant Vibrio spp. were common in diseased seabass and tilapia cultured at Sri Tujuh lagoon. These essential findings suggested involvement of seafood in transmission of these pathogen to human. In addition, oxytetracycline can be used as a treatment to combat vibriosis in diseased seabass and tilapia.

Over the past decades, research in e-learning has begun to take emotions into account, which is also known as affective learning. It advocates an education system that is sentient of learner's cognitive and affective states, as learners' performance could be affected by emotional factors. This exploratory research examines the impacts of task demand and external stimuli on learner's stress perception and job performance. Experiments are conducted on 160 undergraduate students from a higher learning institution. The results show that the impacts are significant.

Mass customization aims at satisfying individual customers, who are given an opportunity to select among several design features and order a unique product. In this experiment four web sites were created where users could specify the design features of a mobile phone. Two web sites were designed to build a mobile phone from scratch: One used a rating agent of design features, and the other had no rating agent. The two other web sites used an existing phone as a basis for design - one used a rating agent and the other had no rating agent. Forty test persons participated in an experiment to evaluate the web sites. Half of them were male and half of them female. The use of the rating agent produced more consistent and better design. The model for mass customization — whether building from scratch or modifying an existing phone — had no impact on the results. There were no differences in results between males and females.

The objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of formaldehyde catcher as termites repellent. Single-layered UF-bonded particleboard was post-treated with formaldehyde catcher and heat respectively. Besides that, some boards were also produced with the formaldehyde catcher was added into the resin during the blending process, called add-in method. Particleboard post-treated with formaldehyde catcher reported the most severe attack. Heat-treated particleboard showed slightly better durability than the control blocks while the add-in catcher showed the best durability among three methods. A valid test was obtained as the termites survived the first week of the test. However, all the termites were found dead at the end of the test.

This report focuses on consumer decision making in mass customization. It presents a study of the effects of two factors: a decision aid in the form of a rating agent, and the basis of customization, on the quality of choices made by consumers in an online mass customization shopping environment. Master of Science (Human Factors Engineering)