The Dromiusina Bonelli, 1810 of southwestern Saudi Arabia with description of a new species (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Lebiini)

In this paper, species of the subtribe Dromiusina Bonelli, 1810 from southwestern Saudi Arabia are revised. Eleven species in six genera (Calodromius, Dromius, Mesolestes, Metadromius, Microlestes, and Zolotarevskyella) are recognized. Dromius saudiarabicus Rasool, Abdel-Dayem and Felix, sp. n. is newly described species from Rayda Nature Reserve Asir province. The presence of Metadromius ephippiatus in Saudi Arabia is doubtful. A key is also provided to genera and species level for Dromiusina of Saudi Arabia

On the taxonomy of the genus Thyridanthrax Osten Sacken in Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with description of a new species (Diptera: Bombyliidae)

El-Hawagry, Magdi S., Abdel-Dayem, Mahmoud S., Al Dhafer, Hathal M. (2019): On the taxonomy of the genus Thyridanthrax Osten Sacken in Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with description of a new species (Diptera: Bombyliidae). Zootaxa 4701 (6): 501-519, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4701.6.

Habitat heterogeneity and altitudinal gradients in relation to beetle diversity in South Sinai, Egypt

Using pitfall traps, ground-dwelling beetles (Coleoptera) were sampled in a nested design from three different localities in the mountainous arid ecosystem of South Sinai at low, middle and high altitudes. Each locality was represented by three different 20x20-m sites, and each site had twenty individual traps distributed systematically. Habitat type and altitude were clearly different among the three localities and to a less extent within localities. Species diversity varied spatially and temporally among the different localities and sometimes within localities. Altitude was positively correlated with beetle species diversity, and habitat heterogeneity within a locality may also play a role in influencing species diversity. The different localities had distinct and characteristic groups of species responding to altitude and habitat characteristics. KEY WORDS: Coleoptera, diversity, habitat heterogeneity, altitude, Sinai, Egypt. Egyptian Journal of Biology Vol.3(2) 2001: 137-14

A review of the Subtribe Lebiina Bonelli (Lebiini, Carabidae, Coleoptera) from Southwest of Saudi Arabia

Rasool, Iftekhar, Abdel-Dayem, Mahmoud S., Felix, Ron F.F.L., Aldhafer, Hathal M. (2018): A review of the Subtribe Lebiina Bonelli (Lebiini, Carabidae, Coleoptera) from Southwest of Saudi Arabia. Zootaxa 4379 (1): 87-102, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4379.1.

The effect of administration of fosfomycin in the management of ventilator-associated pneumonia

Introduction Recently, lack of new antibiotics, together with the rising resistance of antimicrobials against extensively drug-resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae, had caused the restoration of old antibiotics like fosfomycin. Fosfomycin is considered a bactericidal antibiotic of the 1970s. It presents activity against multidrug resistant microorganisms. Patients and methods A randomized, controlled trial was designed between November 2015 and April 2016, including 40 patients diagnosed with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Patients were classified into two equally sized groups: group A (control group) comprised patients receiving only empirical systemic antibiotics and group B included patients receiving oral fosfomycin combined with empirical systemic antibiotics. Clinical pulmonary infection score (CPIS) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were used as predictors of improvement in both groups. Additionally, improvement and mortality rate were secondary endpoints of assessment. Results Age and sex among both groups did not show significant differences. The majority of patients in groups A and B were diagnosed as early-onset pneumonia 75 and 70%, respectively. K. pneumoniae was the most prevalent organism in cases of early as well as late-onset pneumonia (34.4 and 36%, respectively). CPIS and CRP were improved significantly in group B compared with baseline. Furthermore, CPIS and CRP had been declined significantly in group B compared with group A. Despite the significant improvement of CPIS and CRP in group B, it did not show significant lower mortality than in group A. Conclusion Fosfomycin is an effective antimicrobial agent in the treatment of VAP with low mortality rate. Furthermore, CPIS is a potential score used to evaluate the effectiveness of therapy in cases of VAP

Faunistic inventory and zoogeographical analysis of the ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) of Garf Raydah Nature Reserve, Southwestern of Saudi Arabia, and description of a new species of Paussinae

Study of ground beetles of the Garf Raydah Nature Reserve, located in the Asir Mountains of southwestern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) resulted in one species,  Paussus abditus  Nagel, sp. n. described as new to science. Thirteen species (21.3%) are reported as new country records and fifteen species (24.6%) are new records for Asir Province. Adult beetles were collected from 2013 to 2017. The determination of this material yielded a total of 61 species in 40 genera and 17 tribes belonging to nine subfamilies of Carabidae. The species richness represented approximately 36.1% of carabid species previously reported from KSA. The most species rich tribes were the Lebiini (20 species), the Harpalini (10 species), and the Bembidiini (6 species). The life form analysis of adults indicated 18 life form types that are grouped into three categories, Zoophagous (77.1%), Mixophytophagous (18.0%), and Myrmecophilous (4.9%). Zoogeographical analyses indicated that the Afrotropical (19.3%) and the Saharo-Arabian (19.3%) species dominate the carabid fauna of this region of KSA.  Coryza cf.  maculata (Nietner, 1856) is considered the only Oriental representative. Only one cosmopolitan species,  Perigona nigriceps (Dejean, 1831), was collected. Eleven endemics were identified; six species are considered KSA endemics and five are Arabian Peninsula endemics

Ecological niche modeling and land cover risk areas for rift valley fever vector, culex tritaeniorhynchus giles in Jazan, Saudi Arabia.

The mosquito, Culex tritaeniorhynchus Giles is a prevalent and confirmed Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV) vector. This vector, in association with Aedimorphus arabiensis (Patton), was responsible for causing the outbreak of 2000 in Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia.Larval occurrence records and a total of 19 bioclimatic and three topographic layers imported from Worldclim Database were used to predict the larval suitable breeding habitats for this vector in Jazan Province using ArcGIS ver.10 and MaxEnt modeling program. Also, a supervised land cover classification from SPOT5 imagery was developed to assess the land cover distribution within the suitable predicted habitats. Eleven bioclimatic and slope attributes were found to be the significant predictors for this larval suitable breeding habitat. Precipitation and temperature were strong predictors of mosquito distribution. Among six land cover classes, the linear regression model (LM) indicated wet muddy substrate is significantly associated with high-very high suitable predicted habitats (R(2) = 73.7%, P<0.05). Also, LM indicated that total dissolved salts (TDS) was a significant contributor (R(2) = 23.9%, P<0.01) in determining mosquito larval abundance.This model is a first step in understanding the spatial distribution of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus and consequently the risk of RVFV in Saudi Arabia and to assist in planning effective mosquito surveillance and control programs by public health personnel and researchers

Map of Jazan Province and its political districts.

<p>Map of Jazan Province and its political districts.</p