Mecidea longula Stål (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Pentatominae: Mecideini) is established in south Florida

A Caribbean species of Mecidea Dallas, M. longula Stål, apparently established in south Florida, is reported from the United States for the first time. Specimens were first collected in February 2008 in a light trap operated in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Collections in that trap have continued through the present. Searches near the trap location resulted in several specimens being taken from smutgrass, Sporobolus indicus (L.), an exotic grass now established throughout much of the southeastern United States. The three North American species of Mecidea are keyed and illustrated. In addition to the Florida locality, M. longula is reported for the first time from the British Virgin Islands, St. Kitts, St. Martin, and the Turks and Caicos Islands

Variation in Foraging Behavior Among Nesting Stages of Female Red-Faced Warblers

Foraging rates and maneuvers were examined in breeding female Red-faced Warblers (Cardellina rubrifrons) among egg-laying, incubation, and nestling stages. All measures varied among nesting stages, with prey attack rate and search speed significantly increasing from egg-laying to incubation through the nestling stage. During egg-laying and incubation, birds gleaned stationary prey from a fixed perch, but shifted to hover-sallying for stationary prey during the nestling period. These dynamic behavioral patterns may reflect responses to variable time constraints and energetic costs associated with different stages of the nesting cycle

American Indians and COVID-19: Morbidity and Mortality Disparities among Indigenous Populations in the Rural South

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted health inequities among indigenous populations, with those in rural settings facing compounded barriers.Purpose To investigate morbidity and mortality experiences among hospitalized, COVID-19+ American Indian adults from rural and urban settings.Methods The described cross-sectional study used retrospective discharge data from the University of Mississippi Medical Center and Hennepin County Medical Center. Adults (≥ age 18) admitted from January 1, 2020 to August 8, 2021with a COVID-19 diagnosis and known race were included.Results A total of 3,659 inpatients met inclusion criteria. Among adults hospitalized with COVID-19 at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, American Indians (n=73) had the highest mean comorbidity risk score (11.2, SD 8.1) and unadjusted mortality rate (42%) among all races. Among adults hospitalized with COVID-19 at Hennepin County Medical Center, American Indians (n=62) had the second lowest comorbidity risk score (6.1, SD 10.7) and the lowest unadjusted mortality rate (6%). American Indian mortality disparities persisted after controlling for age, sex, and comorbidity risk.Conclusion Hospitalized American Indians from predominantly rural settings experienced significant morbidity and COVID-19 mortality disparities when compared to native persons in predominantly urban environments, or Blacks and Whites in either setting. Compounded disparities faced by rural, indigenous populations must be addressed

Late effects of clubfoot deformity in adolescent and young adult patients whose initial treatment was an extensive soft-tissue release: Topic review and clinical case series

Children with congenital clubfoot often have residual deformity, pain, and limited function in adolescence and young adulthood. These patients represent a heterogeneous group that often requires an individualized management strategy. This article reviews the available literature on this topic while proposing a descriptive classification system based on a review of patients at our institution who underwent surgery for problems related to previous clubfoot deformity during the period between January 1999 and January 2012. Seventy-two patients (93 feet) underwent surgical treatment for the late effects of clubfoot deformity at an average age of 13 years (range 9 to 19 years). All patients had been treated at a young age with serial casting, and most had at least one previous surgery on the affected foot or feet. Five common patterns of pathology identified were as follows: undercorrection, overcorrection, dorsal bunion, anterior ankle impingement, and lateral hindfoot impingement. Management pathways for each group of the presenting problems is described. To our knowledge, this topic review represents the largest report of adolescent and young adult patients with residual clubfoot deformity in the literature

The alignment of molecular cloud magnetic fields with the spiral arms in M33

The formation of molecular clouds, which serve as stellar nurseries in galaxies, is poorly understood. A class of cloud formation models suggests that a large-scale galactic magnetic field is irrelevant at the scale of individual clouds, because the turbulence and rotation of a cloud may randomize the orientation of its magnetic field. Alternatively, galactic fields could be strong enough to impose their direction upon individual clouds, thereby regulating cloud accumulation and fragmentation, and affecting the rate and efficiency of star formation. Our location in the disk of the Galaxy makes an assessment of the situation difficult. Here we report observations of the magnetic field orientation of six giant molecular cloud complexes in the nearby, almost face-on, galaxy M33. The fields are aligned with the spiral arms, suggesting that the large-scale field in M33 anchors the clouds.Comment: to appear in Natur

The Effect of Sample Handling on Cross Sectional HIV Incidence Testing Results

To determine if mishandling prior to testing would make a sample from a chronically infected subject appear recently infected when tested by cross-sectional HIV incidence assays.Serum samples from 31 subjects with chronic HIV infection were tested. Samples were subjected to different handling conditions, including incubation at 4 °C, 25 °C and 37 °C, for 1, 3, 7 or 15 days prior to testing. Samples were also subjected to 1,3, 7 and 15 freeze-thaw cycles prior to testing. Samples were tested using the BED capture enzyme immuno assay (BED-CEIA), Vironostika-less sensitive (V-LS), and an avidity assay using the Genetic Systems HIV-1/HIV-2 plus O EIA (avidity assay).Compared to the sample that was not subjected to any mishandling conditions, for the BED-CEIA, V-LS and avidity assay, there was no significant change in test results for samples incubated at 4 °C or 25 °C prior to testing. No impact on test results occurred after 15 freeze-thaw cycles. A decrease in assay results was observed when samples were held for 3 days or longer at 37 °C prior to testing.Samples can be subjected up to 15 freeze-thaw cycles without affecting the results the BED-CEIA, Vironostika-LS, or avidity assays. Storing samples at 4 °C or 25 °C for up to fifteen days prior to testing had no impact on test results. However, storing samples at 37°C for three or more days did affect results obtained with these assays

Updated Measurement of the Strong Phase in D0 --> K+pi- Decay Using Quantum Correlations in e+e- --> D0 D0bar at CLEO

We analyze a sample of 3 million quantum-correlated D0 D0bar pairs from 818 pb^-1 of e+e- collision data collected with the CLEO-c detector at E_cm = 3.77 GeV, to give an updated measurement of \cos\delta and a first determination of \sin\delta, where \delta is the relative strong phase between doubly Cabibbo-suppressed D0 --> K+pi- and Cabibbo-favored D0bar --> K+pi- decay amplitudes. With no inputs from other experiments, we find \cos\delta = 0.81 +0.22+0.07 -0.18-0.05, \sin\delta = -0.01 +- 0.41 +- 0.04, and |\delta| = 10 +28+13 -53-0 degrees. By including external measurements of mixing parameters, we find alternative values of \cos\delta = 1.15 +0.19+0.00 -0.17-0.08, \sin\delta = 0.56 +0.32+0.21 -0.31-0.20, and \delta = (18 +11-17) degrees. Our results can be used to improve the world average uncertainty on the mixing parameter y by approximately 10%.Comment: Minor revisions, version accepted by PR

Studies of the decays D^0 \rightarrow K_S^0K^-\pi^+ and D^0 \rightarrow K_S^0K^+\pi^-

The first measurements of the coherence factor R_{K_S^0K\pi} and the average strong--phase difference \delta^{K_S^0K\pi} in D^0 \to K_S^0 K^\mp\pi^\pm decays are reported. These parameters can be used to improve the determination of the unitary triangle angle \gamma\ in B^- \rightarrow $\widetilde{D}K^-$ decays, where $\widetilde{D}$ is either a D^0 or a D^0-bar meson decaying to the same final state, and also in studies of charm mixing. The measurements of the coherence factor and strong-phase difference are made using quantum-correlated, fully-reconstructed D^0D^0-bar pairs produced in e^+e^- collisions at the \psi(3770) resonance. The measured values are R_{K_S^0K\pi} = 0.70 \pm 0.08 and \delta^{K_S^0K\pi} = (0.1 \pm 15.7)$^\circ$ for an unrestricted kinematic region and R_{K*K} = 0.94 \pm 0.12 and \delta^{K*K} = (-16.6 \pm 18.4)$^\circ$ for a region where the combined K_S^0 \pi^\pm invariant mass is within 100 MeV/c^2 of the K^{*}(892)^\pm mass. These results indicate a significant level of coherence in the decay. In addition, isobar models are presented for the two decays, which show the dominance of the K^*(892)^\pm resonance. The branching ratio {B}(D^0 \rightarrow K_S^0K^+\pi^-)/{B}(D^0 \rightarrow K_S^0K^-\pi^+) is determined to be 0.592 \pm 0.044 (stat.) \pm 0.018 (syst.), which is more precise than previous measurements.Comment: 38 pages. Version 3 updated to include the erratum information. Errors corrected in Eqs (25), (26), 28). Fit results updated accordingly, and external inputs updated to latest best known values. Typo corrected in Eq(3)- no other consequence