Mosquitoes transmit many diseases to humans and animals e.g., malaria, yellow fever, dengue, filariasis and encephalitis. The fundamental target of this search was to study the effect of three different blood meal sources (human; rabbit and pigeon) on some biological and behavioral properties of Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens. The results have assured that the females of the mosquito Ae. aegypti that were fed on human blood meal has registered the highest feeding activity from feeding on the blood meal whereas the females of the other mosquito Cx. pipiens have shown the highest feeding activity after being fed on pigeons when compared with its feeding on other factors. The results have shown non-significant variation in the average time necessary to digest the blood meal on both mosquito species Ae. aegypti and Cx. pipiens that were fed on vertebrate hosts under laboratory conditions. Furthermore, results assured that the difference in blood meal sources has yielded distinct variation in the reproductive capacity and efficiency of both female mosquitoes under investigation where both species Ae. aegypti and Cx. pipiens already fed on human blood meal have yielded a pronounced distinctive increase in egg production (oviposition) when compared with females that were fed on pigeon or rabbit blood meal respectively. Moreover, feeding of the female mosquitoes under lab conditions on different blood meal sources did not affect the level of the hatching eggs that were laid by both mosquito females.

Salinity and cadmium (Cd) contamination of soil are serious environmental issues threatening food security. This study investigated the role of salicylic acid (SA) and potassium (K) in enhancing the resilience of quinoa against the combined stress of salinity and Cd. Quinoa plants were grown under NaCl (0, 200 mM) and Cd (0, 100 µM) stress, with the addition of 0.1 mM SA and 10 mM K, separately or in combination. The joint stress of Cd and NaCl caused >50% decrease in plant growth, chlorophyll contents, and stomatal conductance compared to the control plants. The higher accumulation of Na and Cd reduced the uptake of K in quinoa tissues. The joint stress of salinity and Cd caused an 11-fold increase in hydrogen peroxide and 13-fold increase in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances contents, and caused a 61% decrease in membrane stability. An external supply of 0.1 mM SA and 10 mM K helped plants to better adapt to salinity and Cd stress with less of a reduction in plant biomass (shoot 19% and root 24%) and less accumulation of Na and Cd in plant tissues. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) were enhanced by 11-fold, 10-fold, 7.7-fold, and 7-fold, respectively, when SA and K were applied together to the plants subjected to the joint stress of Cd and salinity. Based on the values of the bioconcentration factor (>1), the translocation factor (<1), and the higher tolerance index, it was clear that Cd-contaminated, salty soils could be stabilized with quinoa under the combined supply of SA and K.

Background: Forensic entomology utilizes insects for legal and criminal investigations, particularly in determining the time of death when traditional medical parameters become ineffective after 72 h. Insects play a crucial role in Post-Mortem Interval (PMI) estimation and provide insight into crime scene events. Methods: This study focused on the collection and molecular identification of forensic insects in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Rabbit carcasses were used as human analogs and were placed in specialized cages across five locations. Insects were collected twice daily for two weeks and identified based on their morphological and molecular characteristics. DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)and sequencing were used for genetic analysis. Result: Phylogenetic analysis revealed significant genetic similarities among the collected species, indicating low genetic diversity and a stable population structure. The key species identified were Sarcophaga dux, Wohlfahrtia nuba, Sarcophaga harpax, Chrysomya albiceps, Chrysomya megacephala, Chrysomya marginalis, Atherigona orientalis, Musca domestica and Hydrotaea capensis. These findings support the use of genetic analysis for accurate species identification in forensics. Additionally, this study highlights the potential impact of climate change on insect populations, suggesting future research directions in forensic entomology. This study contributes to the understanding of forensic insect ecology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and enhances forensic investigation methods.

Nanotechnology is a newer branch of material science that thrives in the interdisciplinary fields including biomedical, therapeutics, diagnostics etc. Among the metallic nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in particular are known for their versatile biological applications in several scientific fields in general and specifically the biomedical field. The current article accounts for an environmentally safe method for AuNPs synthesis using the chloroauric acid and ethanolic leaf extract of Nicotiana glauca (NG), for the first time. Various analytical techniques identified properties of synthesized AuNP to include UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, Fourier-Transform Infrared Radiation (FT-IR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for surface morphology. The average diameter of synthesized AuNP was about 100 nm. Antimicrobial activity of AuNPs was investigated on Grampositive ( Staphylococcus aureus ), Gram-negative (Escherichia coli , Proteus mirabilis, and Shigella flexneri) and fungi (Candida albicans) using well diffusion method. Cytotoxic action on Hela/HepG2 tumor cell lines and normal rat splenic cells were tested through cell viability. Furthermore, Larvicidal toxicity was performed on 4th instar larvae of Culex pipens . NG extract (NGEx) alone exerted significantly lower (6–7 mm) antimicrobial activity than that of NG extract with AuNPs (14–15 mm). Cytotoxicity screening revealed that both preparations were growth inhibitory on both cell lines and splenic cells. For larvicidal properties, the extract and gold nanoparticles (NGExAu) showed larvicidal effect against 4th instar larvae of Culex pipiens. NGExAu was more lethal (LC₅₀ = 164.4072 ppm; LC₉₀ = 613.366 ppm) against Cx. pipiens under exposure for 24 h with lesser lethal content com- pared to NGEx of only (LC₅₀ = 752.865 ppm; LC₉₀ = 4455.726 ppm).