First record of the North American cryptic invader Ferrissia fragilis (Tryon, 1863) (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Planorbidae) in the Middle East

Some gastropod specimens belonging to the planorbid genus Ferrissia were recently collected in Lebanon and in Iraq, where the autochthonous species Ferrissia clessiniana (Jickeli, 1882) is supposed to occur. The molecular identification of collected specimens proved that they belong to the allochthonous species Ferrissia fragilis (Tryon, 1863), the protagonist of a dramatic cryptic invasion which is of interest to the whole of Eurasia. These findings cast further doubts on the actual existence of autochthonous Ferrissia species in the Palaearctic. The need for a molecular characterisation of the topotypical population of F. clessiniana, and for a revision of the Palaearctic Ferrissia species, is stressed

Electro-fluid dynamics of aqueous humor production: simulations and new directions.

Purpose: to theoretically investigate the role of bicarbonate ion (HCO− 3 ) on the nonpigmented transepithelial potential di erence Vm, the sodium potassium pump (Na/K) and the active secretion of aqueous humor. Methods: a three-dimensional mathematical model is proposed to isolate the roles of HCO− 3 and Na+, which are di icult to investigate experimentally. The model combines the velocity-extended Poisson-Nernst-Planck equations to describe ion electrodi usion and the Stokes equations to describe aqueous humor flow into the basolateral space adjacent to the nonpigmented ephitelial cells. Results: Computations show that Vm is close to baseline experimental measurements (on monkeys) in the range [−2.7, −2.3]mV only if HCO− 3 is included in the simulation. The model is also capable of reproducing the flow of Na+ exiting the cell and the flow of K+ entering the cell, in accordance with the physiology of the Na/K pump. The simulated Na/K ratio is 1.53, which is in very good agreement with the theoretical value of 1.5. Conclusion: Model simulations suggest that HCO− 3 inhibition may prevent physiologically correct baseline values of the nonpigmented transepithelial potential di erence and Na/K ATPase function. This may provide useful indication in the design of medications that decrease the active secretion of aqueous humor, and supports the advantage of using mathematical models as a noninvasive complement of animal models

Population-Attributable Risks for Ischemic Stroke in a Community in South Brazil: A Case-Control Study

Background: Risk factors for ischemic stroke are mostly known, but it is still unclear in most countries, what are their combined population-attributable risk percent (PAR%). In a case-control study the individual odds ratios (ORs) and the individual and combined PAR%, including risk factors not addressed in previous studies were estimated. Methods: Cases and controls were selected from patients attending to an emergency department. Cases were patients aged with 45 years or more with the first episode of ischemic stroke, characterized by a focal neurological deficit or change in the mental status occurring during the previous 24 hours. Controls, matched to cases by age and gender, were selected from patients without neurological complaints. Results: 133 cases and 272 controls were studied. Odds ratios for ischemic stroke were: atrial fibrillation (27.3; CI 95 % 7.5

A search for the decay modes B+/- to h+/- tau l

We present a search for the lepton flavor violating decay modes B+/- to h+/- tau l (h= K,pi; l= e,mu) using the BaBar data sample, which corresponds to 472 million BBbar pairs. The search uses events where one B meson is fully reconstructed in one of several hadronic final states. Using the momenta of the reconstructed B, h, and l candidates, we are able to fully determine the tau four-momentum. The resulting tau candidate mass is our main discriminant against combinatorial background. We see no evidence for B+/- to h+/- tau l decays and set a 90% confidence level upper limit on each branching fraction at the level of a few times 10^-5.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.