Efficacy of a new self-supporting low-profile bednet for personal protection against Anopheles farauti (Diptera : Culicidae) in a village in Papua New Guinea

A new United States (U.S.) self-supporting low-profile bednet was designed by Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in collaboration with Breakthrough Technologies. The bednet incorporated permethrin-impregnated screening into a frame that erected automatically when removed from its bag. The new U.S. bednet was compared with the current Australian Defense Force (ADF) mosquito bednet at Buka Island, North Solomons Province, Papua New Guinea, in March 1999. At the time of the test, Anopheles farauti Laveran was the most abundant biting mosquito. Both bednet types provided > 97.8% protection compared with an unprotected collector. The untreated U.S. Army prototype bednet provided better protection than the untreated ADF bednet against mosquitoes entering the bednet during the night.

Effects of anitoxidant supplementation and exercise training on erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes

Erythrocytes transport oxygen to tissues and exercise-induced oxidative stress increases erythrocyte damage and turnover. Increased use of antioxidant supplements may alter protective erythrocyte antioxidant mechanisms during training. Aim of study: To examine the effects of antioxidant supplementation, (alpha-lipoic acid and a-tocopherol) and/or endurance training on the antioxidant defenses of erythrocytes. Methods: Young male Wistar rats were. assigned to (1) sedentary; (2) sedentary and antioxidant-supplemented; (3) endurance-trained; or (4) endurance-trained and antioxidant-supplemented groups for 14 weeks. Erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and catalase (CAT) activities, and plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) were then measured. Results: Antioxidant supplementation had no significant effect (p > 0.05) on activities of antioxidant enzymes in sedentary animals. Similarly, endurance training alone also bad no effect (p > 0.05). GPX (125.9 2.8 vs. 121.5 3.0 U.gHb(-1), p < 0.05) and CAT (6.1 0.2 vs. 5.6 0.2 U.mgHb-1, p < 0.05) activities were increased in supplemented trained animals compared to non-supplemented sedentary animals whereas SOD (61.8 4.3 vs. 52.0 5.2 U.mgHb(-1), p < 0.05) activity was decreased. Plasma MDA was not different among groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions: In a rat model, the combination of exercise training and antioxidant supplementation increased antioxidant enzyme activities (GPX, CAT) compared with each individual intervention.