Abstract INTRODUCTION Anopheles stephensi is the main malaria vector in Southeast Asia. Recently, plant-sourced larvicides are attracting great interests. METHODS: The essential oil was extracted from the leaf of Cinnamomum camphora (L.), and a bioassay was conducted to determine the larvicidal efficacy. The chemical composition of the essential oil was determined by GC-MS analysis. RESULTS: The oil showed strong, dose-dependent larvicidal activities. The onset of larvicidal efficiency was rapid. The LC50 and LC95 were determined as 0.146% and 1.057% at 1 h, 0.031% and 0.237% at 12 h, 0.026% and 0.128% at 24 h, respectively. The oil contains 32 compounds. CONCLUSIONS The essential oil of C. camphora leaf has an excellent larvicidal potential for the control of A. stephensi.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the effects of serum from patients with ankylosing spondylitis on the canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway and to assess whether the serum has an osteogenic effect in MG63 cells. METHODS: MG63 cells were cultured with serum from 45 ankylosing spondylitis patients, 30 healthy controls, or 45 rheumatoid arthritis patients. The relative PPARD, fra-1, MMP7, OPG and RANKL mRNA levels were measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Associations between gene expression and patient demographics and clinical assessments were then analyzed. RESULTS: MG63 cells treated with serum from ankylosing spondylitis patients had higher PPARD, fra-1, MMP7 and OPG gene expression than did cells treated with serum from controls or rheumatoid arthritis patients (all p<0.05). RANKL expression was higher in MG63 cells treated with serum from patients with ankylosing spondylitis or rheumatoid arthritis than in those treated with serum from controls (both p<0.05). The OPG/RANKL ratio was also higher in MG63 cells treated with serum from ankylosing spondylitis patients than in those treated with serum from controls (p<0.05). No associations were found between the expression of the five genes and the patient demographics and clinical assessments (all p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS : Serum from ankylosing spondylitis patients increases PPARD, fra-1, MMP7, OPG and RANKL expression and the OPG/RANKL ratio in MG63 cells; these effects may be due to the stimulatory effect of the serum on the Wnt pathway.