Advances in the taxonomy of Costa Rican Anomalini

Se dan a conocer los principales resultados de los recientes estudios sobre la taxonomía y biodiversidad de los Anomalini de Costa Rica. Se discute además el problema actual del “impedimento taxonómico” y la relevancia de la Taxonomía como disciplina biológica.The main results of the recent studies on the taxonomy and biodiversity of the Anomalini of Costa Rica are presented. Additionally, the current problem of taxonomic impediment and the relevance of taxonomy as a biological discipline are discussed

Descripción de dos especies crípticas de Anomala Samouelle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae) de Costa Rica

Two new species of Anomala Samouelle from Costa Rica are described: Anomala moroni new species and A. parvaeucoma new species. Habitus, protibia, distribution map, and male genitalia (aedeagus and endophallus) of each species are illustrated. A key for the dorsally setose species from the Neotropical region is provided.Se describen dos nuevas especies de Anomala Samouelle de Costa Rica: Anomala moroni nueva especie y A. parvaeucoma nueva especie. Se ilustra una vista dorsal, protibia, el mapa de distribución y las genitalias masculinas (edeago y endofalo) para cada especie. Se proporciona una clave dicotómica para la identificación de las especies dorsalmente setosas de la región neotropical.Financial support was provided by the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID) projects A/4426/05, A/6788/06, A/019887/08, A/023060/09 and a PhD grant to V. Filippini from the Spanish Ministry of Education

Checklist and identification key of Anomalini (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Rutelinae) of Costa Rica

A checklist and identification key for the species of the tribe Anomalini in Costa Rica are presented. The Anomalini species are important economically, as they have larvae that are or can become agricultural pests, as well as ecologically, having potential as bioindicators. In spite of their importance and richness, identification tools for the group in the Neotropics remain scarce. The Costa Rican fauna comprises six genera (Anomala, Anomalorhina, Callistethus, Epectinaspis, Moroniella, and Strigoderma) and a total of 120 species. Anomala contusa Filippini, Micó, Galante, 2015 is proposed as a synonym of A. inbio (Ramírez-Ponce, Bitar, Curoe 2014); Anomala limon nom. n. is proposed as a new name for A. inbio Filippini, Galante, Micó, 2015, a homonym of A. inbio (Ramírez-Ponce, Bitar, Curoe, 2014); Anomala cinaedias nom. n. is proposed as a new name for A. chloropyga Ohaus, 1897, a homonym of A. chloropyga Burmeister, 1844; and Anomala chrysomelina is moved to the genus Callistethus.Presentamos el listado y la clave de identificación de las especies de la tribu Anomalini de Costa Rica. Las especies de Anomalini son importantes económica, con larvas que son o pueden ser plagas agrícolas, y ecológicamente, con un potencial como bioindicadores. A pesar de su importancia y riqueza, los instrumentos de identificación para el grupo para el Neoptrópico son todavía escasos. La fauna de Costa Rica está compuesta por seis géneros (Anomala, Anomalorhina, Callistethus, Epectinaspis, Moroniella y Strigoderma) y un total de 120 especies. Anomala contusa Filippini, Micó, Galante, 2015 se propone como sinónimo de A. inbio (Ramírez-Ponce, Bitar, Curoe, 2014); Anomala limon se propone como nuevo nombre de A. inbio Filippini, Galante, Micó, 2015, homónimo de A. inbio (Ramírez-Ponce, Bitar, Curoe, 2014); Anomala cinaedias se propone como nuevo nombre de A. chloropyga Ohaus, 1897, homónimo de A. chloropyga Burmeister, 1844; Anomala chrysomelina se mueve al género Callistethus.Financial support was provided by the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID) projects A/4426/05, A/6788/06, A/019887/08, A/023060/09 and a PhD grant to V. Filippini from the Spanish Ministry of Education

The genus Callistethus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae) in the Neotropics: new data and new species from Costa Rica

The species Callistethus carbo sp.n., C. flavodorsalis sp.n., C. fuscorubens sp.n., C. lativittis sp.n., C. levigatus sp.n., C. macroxantholeus sp.n., C. microxantholeus sp.n., C. multiplicatus sp.n., C. parapulcher sp.n., C. pseudocollaris sp.n. and C. stannibractea sp.n. from Costa Rica are described. Synonymy of Callistethus kolbei (Ohaus, 1897) with Callistethus specularis (Bates, 1888) is proposed. A phylogenetic analysis based on the genes 16S, COI and 28S is carried out for Costa Rican species and diagnostic morphological features for the genus are tested on it for phylogenetic signal. An identification key for Callistethus species of Costa Rica is provided. The distribution patterns of Callistethus species in Costa Rica are discussed.Se describen las especies Callistethus carbo sp.n., C. flavodorsalis sp.n., C. fuscorubens sp.n., C. lativittis sp.n., C. levigatus sp.n., C. macroxantholeus sp.n., C. microxantholeus sp.n., C. multiplicatus sp.n., C. parapulcher sp.n., C. pseudocollaris sp.n. y C. stannibractea sp.n. de Costa Rica. Se propone una nueva sinonimia de Callistethus kolbei (Ohaus, 1897) con Callistethus specularis (Bates, 1888). Se realiza un análisis filogenético basado en los genes 16S, COI y 28S con especies de Costa Rica y sobre el árbol resultante se comprueba la señal filogenética de los caracteres morfológicos diagnósticos del género. Se proporciona una clave para las especies de Callistethus de Costa Rica. Se discuten los patrones de distribución del género en Costa Rica.Financial support was provided by the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID) projects A/4426/05, A/6788/06, A/019887/08, A/023060/09 and a PhD grant to V. Filippini from the Spanish Ministry of Education. The research stay at the Natural History Museum, London received support from the SYNTHESYS Project http://www.synthesys.info/ that is financed by European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the FP7 ‘Capacities’ Program

Description of eight new Anomala species from Costa Rica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae)

Eight new species of Anomala from Costa Rica are described: A. arthuri new species, A. cupreovariolosa new species, A. ferrea new species, A. nigroflava new species, A. semilla new species, A. solisi new species, A. volsellata new species, A. zumbadoi new species and a distribution map of each is given. The male genitalia (aedeagus and endophallus) of the species covered are illustrated.Financial support was provided by the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID) projects A/4426/05, A/6788/06, A/019887/08, A/023060/09 and a PhD grant to V. Filippini from the Spanish Ministry of Education

Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase-2 Controls the Differentiation and Maturation of Oligodendrocytes in Mice and Zebrafish

Leucine-rich repeat kinase-2 (LRRK2), a gene mutated in familial and sporadic Parkinson’s disease (PD), controls multiple cellular processes important for GLIA physiology. Interestingly, emerging studies report that LRRK2 is highly expressed in oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) compared to the pathophysiology of other brain cells and oligodendrocytes (OLs) in PD. Altogether, these observations suggest crucial function(s) of LRRK2 in OPCs/Ols, which would be interesting to explore. In this study, we investigated the role of LRRK2 in OLs. We showed that LRRK2 knock-out (KO) OPC cultures displayed defects in the transition of OPCs into OLs, suggesting a role of LRRK2 in OL differentiation. Consistently, we found an alteration of myelin basic protein (MBP) striosomes in LRRK2 KO mouse brains and reduced levels of oligodendrocyte transcription factor 2 (Olig2) and Mbp in olig2:EGFP and mbp:RFP transgenic zebrafish embryos injected with lrrk2 morpholino (MO). Moreover, lrrk2 knock-down zebrafish exhibited a lower amount of nerve growth factor (Ngf) compared to control embryos, which represents a potent regulator of oligodendrogenesis and myelination. Overall, our findings indicate that LRRK2 controls OL differentiation, affecting the number of mature OLs

Facilitating the Child–Robot Interaction by Endowing the Robot with the Capability of Understanding the Child Engagement: The Case of Mio Amico Robot

AbstractSocial Robots (SRs) are substantially becoming part of modern society, given their frequent use in many areas of application including education, communication, assistance, and entertainment. The main challenge in human–robot interaction is in achieving human-like and affective interaction between the two groups. This study is aimed at endowing SRs with the capability of assessing the emotional state of the interlocutor, by analyzing his/her psychophysiological signals. The methodology is focused on remote evaluations of the subject's peripheral neuro-vegetative activity by means of thermal infrared imaging. The approach was developed and tested for a particularly challenging use case: the interaction between children and a commercial educational robot, Mio Amico Robot, produced by LiscianiGiochi©. The emotional state classified from the thermal signal analysis was compared to the emotional state recognized by a facial action coding system. The proposed approach was reliable and accurate and favored a personalized and improved interaction of children with SRs

L’adenocarcinoma dell’appendice ileo-ciecale: presentazione di un caso clinico e revisione della letteratura

L’adenocarcinoma dell’appendice ileo-ciecale è una neoplasia di rara osservazione rappresentando meno dello 0,5% di tutti i tumori dell’apparato gastrointestinale. Nella maggior parte dei casi viene diagnosticato all’esame istologico definitivo di un’appendice asportata per flogosi, talora invece rappresenta un reperto del tutto inatteso, documentato da biopsie estemporanee, in corso di intervento chirurgico eseguito per sospetta appendicite acuta o altra patologia non appendicolare. La storia naturale di tale neoplasia è fortemente condizionata dalle peculiari caratteristiche anatomiche del viscere che ne favoriscono la precoce diffusione e una notevole tendenza alla perforazione. Si associa frequentemente ad altre neoplasie primitive, sincrone o metacrone, a localizzazione colo-rettale o extraintestinale. Il trattamento chirurgico oncologicamente corretto è l’emicolectomia destra che può essere eseguita come prima procedura, nei casi in cui la neoplasia venga diagnosticata pre- o intraoperatoriamente, o come seconda procedura, due-tre settimane dopo l’appendicectomia, qualora soltanto l’esame istologico dell’appendice asportata riveli la presenza dell’adenocarcinoma. L’emicolectomia destra è il trattamento chirurgico più idoneo in tutti gli istotipi (colico, mucinoso, adenocarcinoide), in presenza di perforazione ed anche nelle neoplasie allo stadio A di Dukes. Durante l’atto operatorio è necessario effettuare un’accurata esplorazione della cavità addominale per la ricerca di neoplasie sincrone, mentre dopo l’intervento i pazienti dovranno essere sottoposti ad un follow-up regolare e prolungato nel tempo onde diagnosticare precocemente eventuali neoplasie metacrone. Riportiamo il caso di una donna di 78 anni con adenocarcinoma dell’appendice scoperto casualmente in corso di intervento chirurgico eseguito per un quadro di occlusione intestinale da sospetta neoplasia del cieco

Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors Protect Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells Against Oxidation by Modulating Nitric Oxide Release and Autophagy

Background/Aims: the anti-vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF), Aflibercept and Ranibizumab, are used for the treatment of macular degeneration. Here we examined the involvement of nitric oxide (NO), mitochondria function and of apoptosis/autophagy in their antioxidant effects in human retinal pigment epithelium cells (RPE). Methods: RPE were exposed to Ranibizumab/Aflibercept in the absence or presence of NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor and of autophagy activator/blocker, rapamicyn/3-methyladenine. Specific kits were used for cell viability, NO and reactive oxygen species detection and mitochondrial membrane potential measurement, whereas Western Blot was performed for apoptosis/ autophagy markers and other kinases detection. Results: In RPE cultured in physiological conditions, Aflibercept/Ranibizumab increased NO release in a dose and time-dependent way. Opposite results were obtained in RPE pretreated with hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, both the anti-VEGF agents were able to prevent the fall of cell viability and of mitochondrial membrane potential. Those effects were reduced by the NOS inhibitor and 3-methyladenine and were potentiated by rapamycin. Finally, Aflibercept and Ranibizumab counteracted the changes of apoptosis/autophagy markers, NOS, Phosphatidylinositol-3-Kinase/Protein Kinase B and Extracellular signal–regulated kinases 1/2 caused by peroxidation. Conclusion: Aflibercept and Ranibizumab protect RPE against peroxidation through the modulation of NO release, apoptosis and autophagy