Pseudosmittia fabioi sp. n., a new species from Sardinia (Diptera: Chironomidae, Orthocladiinae)

A new species of Pseudosmittia Edwards 1932, P. fabioi, from Sardinia (Palearctic region), is described and figured as male and female. The generic diagnosis is emended based on characters found in the new species. The species is characterized by a triangular anal point with microtrichia at apex (not projecting beyond tergite IX), an inferior volsella characterized by a rounded lobe with a setose accessory lobe adpressed to the gonocoxite, a well developed tooth-like projection on the outer margin of the gonostylus, the lack of acrostichals and an antenna with 6 flagellomeres in female

Studies on propulsion and on-board systems matching in agile project distributed collaborative MDO environment applying for advanced regional and medium haul jet

The article deals with the evaluation of the influences of the electrification of the aircraft On-Board Systems on Propulsion System performance. In particular, four system architectures have been proposed, each one with a different level of electrification. The influences have been also analysed at aircraft level including a regional and a medium haul reference aircraft. The analysis is carried out using the distributed and collaborative MDAO environment developed in the framework of the AGILE research project. At the end, different behaviours have been observed for the two reference aircraft indicating a different trend in systems matching

Task-switching ability protects against the adverse effects of pain on health: A longitudinal study of older adults

Aging is often accompanied by increases in pain, which may threaten physical health. Successfully managing increased pain requires the ability to switch attention away from the pain and toward adaptive health cognitions and behaviors. However, no study to date has tested how pain interacts with task-switching ability to predict future health in older adults. Additionally, no study has tested whether objective (i.e., task-switching performance) or subjective measures of cognitive ability have a stronger impact on future health

Psychosocial Functioning and the Cortisol Awakening Response: Meta-Analysis, \u3cem\u3eP\u3c/em\u3e-Curve Analysis, and Evaluation of the Evidential Value in Existing Studies

Cortisol levels rise immediately after awakening and peak approximately 30-45 minutes thereafter. Psychosocial functioning influences this cortisol awakening response (CAR), but there is considerable heterogeneity in the literature. The current study used p-curve and metaanalysis on 709 findings from 212 studies to test the evidential value and estimate effect sizes of four sets of findings: those associating worse psychosocial functioning with higher or lower cortisol increase relative to the waking period (CARi) and to the output of the waking period (AUCw). All four sets of findings demonstrated evidential value. Psychosocial predictors explained 1%-3.6% of variance in CARi and AUCw responses. Based on these effect sizes, cross-sectional studies assessing CAR would need a minimum sample size of 617-783 to detect true effects with 80% power. Depression was linked to higher AUCw and posttraumatic stress to lower AUCw, whereas inconclusive results were obtained for predictor-specific effects on CARi. Suggestions for future CAR research are discussed

Benthic macroinvertebrates as indicators in lakes

Benthic macroinvertebrates are considered to be good indicators of the trophic status of lakes but in the Mediterranean area gaps in knowledge on taxonomical and autoecological traits of species hinder their potential as indicators. Seventy-eight Italian lakes were sampled, belonging to 10 types according to morphometrical, geographical and geological parameters. An unsupervised neural network (SOM analysis) was carried out using 65 Chironomid and Oligochaete species collected in 1865 samples. he accordance between lake types and species assemblages was tested. Indicator weight of species was calculated considering their optima for trophic variables (dissolved oxygen, TP, transparency). A Benthic Quality Index (BQI) and a weighted diversity index were then calculated to test their potential as indicators of trophic status of lakes. Alpine, volcanic and large profundal lakes were separated into diferent clusters, characterized by diferent communities, chemical and morphometrical parameters. On the contrary, other lake types with similar trophic status were grouped together, showing similar taxa assemblages. BQI values were in agreement with the trophic condition of lakes, while the weighted diversity index showed low values for alpine lakes due to low species numbers

Chironomids from Southern Alpine running waters : ecology, biogeography

The chironomid fauna living in running waters in the Southern Alps was investigated from an ecological and biogeographical point of view: 202 species were identified (not including terrestrial species). It must be emphasised that species identification is tentative within some genera, especially those awaiting revision (e.g., Boreoheptagyia, Chaetocladius). Although much taxonomic work was done in the past on the chironomid Alpine fauna, there are still many unsolved problems. Most of the species found are widespread in the Palearctic Region, with no evidence of bio-geographical barriers separating different Alpine sectors. Really a relatively high number of species reported from the northern and western side (France, Switzerland, Austria) of the Alps was not captured on the southern side (Italy), whereas most species found on the southern side are also present on the northern one. Very few species are reported from southern side only. Lack of sampling, imperfect taxonomic knowledge and different environmental conditions between the northern and southern sides may be responsible of this result. A comparison of the fauna of the southern Alps with the fauna of the Apennines suggests that the differences are probably more related to ecological conditions (lack of glaciers in the Apennines) than to biogeographical barriers. Different chironomid assemblages colonise manifold habitat types: strict cold-stenothermal species tolerating high current velocity (e.g., Diamesa latitarsis - steinboecki group) are almost the sole inhabitants of kryal biotopes, while other cold-stenothermal species are restricted to cold springs (Diamesa dampfi, D. incallida, Tokunagaia rectangularis, T. tonollii), there are also species characteristic of hygropetric habitats (Syndiamesa edwardsi, S. nigra) or restricted to lacustrine habitats (Corynoneura lacustris, Paratanytarsus austriacus). It must be emphasised that different responses to environmental factors can be observed between species belonging to the same genus (e.g., Diamesa, Eukiefferiella, Orthocladius, Paratrichocladius), so species identification is really needed for a good ecological work. Water temperature, current velocity, substrate type are the most critical factors, sometime chironomid species appear to be rather opportunistic and their presence or absence cannot be clearly related to a well defined range of values of environmental variables: be it a lack of knowledge or a real datum will be the task of future studies. The waters of the Alps are still relatively unpolluted, but hydraulic stress due to river damming and canalization is a serious problem for macrofauna conservation, and as the glaciers retreat, the species confined to the glacial snouts are at risk of extinction, some of them possibly even before their existence be discovered

A benthic quality index for European alpine lakes

The development of benthic quality indices for European lakes is hindered by the lack of information concerning many national lake types and pressures. Most information is from north European lakes stressed by acidification and from deep lakes subjected to eutrophication; for other lake types (the ones included in the Mediterranean areas for example) and for other pressures (hydro-morphological alteration, toxic stress) there is practically no information about the response of benthic macro-invertebrates; this hinders the possibility of an intercalibration of the indices among the member states (MS) in the EU. In the present communication three benthic quality indices are proposed considering the littoral, sublittoral and profundal zone in 5 reference and 7 non reference lakes from the Alpine region in response to eutrophication. The sensitivity values of the 177 species found in these lakes were calculated taking a weighted average of the values of environmental variables from lakes in which the species were present. The indicator taxa which prevailed in these lakes were Chironomids and Oligochaetes. A coinertia analysis emphasized the importance of trophic variables (transparency, nitrates, total phosphorous) in explaining the species distribution, but geographic (altitude) and morphometric (depth, volume) variables were also important. The indices enabeled a separation of reference from non-reference lakes and to assign the non-reference lakes to different quality classes in agreement with the Water Framework Directive. doi: 10.5324/fn.v31i0.1364. Published online: 17 October 2012.