Catalogue of the ectoparasitic insects of the bats of Argentina

Taxonomy and distribution of the ectoparasitic insects of bats from Argentina, are reviewed. Seventeen species of Diptera (six of Nycteribiidae and eleven of Streblidae), six species of Siphonaptera (four ofIschnopsyllidae, one of Pulicidae, and one ofStephanocircidae), and seven species of Hemiptera (Polyctenidae) are known presently for Argentina. The information was obtained by reviewing the literature and collecting in the field between 1989 and 1998. The specimens collected in the field were compared with the type material deposited at the Field Museum of Natural History (CHNM).En este primer catalogo de insectos ectoparasitos de murcielagos de la Argentina, se ofrece informacion sobre taxonomia y distribucion. Se conocen actualmente en el pais 17 especies de Diptera (seis de Nycteribiidae yonce de Streblidae), seis de Siphonaptera (cuatro de Ischnopsyllidae, una de Pulicidae y una de Stephanocircidae) y siete especies de Hemiptera (Polyctenidae). Se consulto numerosa literatura sobre los distintos grupos y se reviso abundante material obtenido en viajes de campana realizados desde 1989 a 1998, a numerosas localidades de la Argentina. Se realizaron comparaciones con material tipo del Field Museum of Natural History (CHNM)

Catalogue of the ectoparasitic insects of the bats of Argentina

Abstract:Taxonomy and distribution of the ectoparasitic insects of bats from Argentina, are reviewed. Seventeen species of Diptera (six of Nycteribiidae and eleven of Streblidae), six species of Siphonaptera (four of Ischnopsyllidae, one of Pulicidae, and one of Stephanocircidae), and seven species of Hemiptera (Polyctenidae) are known presently for Argentina. The information was obtained by reviewing the literature and collecting in the field between 1989 and 1998. The specimens collected in the field were compared with the type material deposited at the Field Museum of Natural History (CHNM). Resumen: En este primer cathlogo de insectos ectoparhsitos de murcielagos de la Argentina, se ofrece informacion sobre taxonomia y distribucion. Se conocen actualmente en el pais 17 especies de Diptera (seis de Nycteribiidae y once de Streblidae), seis de Siphonaptera (cuatro de Ischnopsyllidae, una de Pulicidae y una de Stephanocircidae) y siete especies de Hemiptera (Polyctenidae). Se consulto numerosa literatura sobre los distintos grupos y se reviso abundante material obtenido en viajes de campana realizados desde 1989 a 1998, a numerosas localidades de la Argentina. Se realizaron comparaciones con material tipo del Field Museum of Natural History (CHNM)

The genus Aspidoptera (Diptera: Streblidae) in Argentina

Se cita a Aspidoptera falcata Wenzel por primera vez de la Argentina, mediante ejemplares procedentes de las provincias de Jujuy, Misiones, Salta y Tucumán, recolectados en simpatría con A. phyllostomatis (Perty) y compartiendo los mismos hospedadores.Aspidoptera falcata Wenzel is cited for the first time from Argentina, in the provinces of Jujuy, Misiones, Salta, and Tucumán. The species lives in sympatry with A. phyllostomatis (Perty), sharing the same hosts.Fil: Autino, Analía G.. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Programa de Investigación de Biodiversidad Argentina; ArgentinaFil: Claps, Guillermo Luis. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto Superior de Entomología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Barquez, Ruben Marcos. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Programa de Investigación de Biodiversidad Argentina; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Yield and quality of milk and udder health in Martina Franca ass: effects of daily interval and time of machine milking

Twenty asses of Martina Franca breed, machine milked twice a day, were used to assess the influence of milking interval (3-h, 5-h, and 8-h; N=5) and time (700, 1200 and 1900) on milk yield and udder health. Individual milk samples were taken to determine fat, protein and lactose con- tent. Sensory analysis profile was also assessed. Milk's total bacterial count (TBC), somatic cell con- tent (SCC) and udder's skin temperature were considered to assess udder health. Milk yield increases by 28.4% (P<0.01) with a milking interval from 3-h to 8-h and is higher (P<0.01) at morning milking. The maximum milk yield per milking corresponds to 700 milking (1416.9 mL) thus indicating a circa- dian rhythm in milk secretion processes. Milking intervals of 5 and 8 hours cause a decrease (P<0.01) in milk fat and lactose content. The 8-h interval leads to an increase (P<0.01) in SCC but without any significance for the health udder. No alterations about CBT, clinical evaluation and temperature of ud- der were observed. Milk organoleptic characteristics were better in the 3-h interval milking

Reconstruction and Analysis of the Po River Inundation of 1951

Flood inundation models have become essential tools in flood risk management, being used also in the analysis of historical flood events, which is often needed for a reliable assessment of the potential flood hazard. This study aims at reconstructing the 1951 inundation of the Polesine Region, Italy. The 1951 flooding was a mayor natural catastrophe that caused a large inundated area (1080 km2) and produced devastating social consequences. The reconstruction of the 1951 hydraulic conditions is based on partial knowledge of discharges and water stages at the Pontelagoscuro gauging station (downstream of the 1951 levee breach) using extrapolation of the rating curves beyond the measurement range. This is, even today, something open to uncertainty. We applied a decoupled hybrid approach to the hydraulic modeling: a 1D model is used to simulate the flow into the river and to compute the flow through the levee breach; this result is then adopted as the inflow condition for a 2D model application on the inundated area. A good agreement between the patterns of the observed and reconstructed inundation areas was found, and the timing of the inundation was also found to be close to the information derived from the historical chronicles. The results of the flood inundation modelling exercise provide two practical insight: (i) obstacles in the floodplains increased the flooded area by 40% and prolonged the time to reach the sea from 5 to 15 days, (ii) the peak discharge of the event was overestimated by up to 20

Crocin improves the quality of cryopreserved goat semen in different breeds

The effect of crocin in the semen extender before cryopreservation was evaluated on sperm parameters of 20 bucks of five different breeds: Garganica (GA), Jonica (JO), Maltese (MA), Mediterranean Red (MR) and Saanen (SA). Semen samples were centrifuged, to remove seminal plasma, divided in two aliquots and diluted with Tris-egg-yolk-based extender, containing 0 (control group) and 1 mM crocin. Crocin concentration was established after a preliminary dose trial. On fresh and frozen-thawed sperm, motility, viability, morphology, membrane integrity, DNA fragmentation and ROS levels were evaluated. The freezing process led to a decrease (p < 0.05) in all the sperm parameters recorded, confirming the deleterious effect of cryopreservation on goat semen. The most interesting result regarding the inclusion of crocin in the extender before cryopreservation was as follows: Crocin significantly improved (p < 0.05) sperm motility in all breeds, except for Mediterranean Red, compared to the control group. Furthermore, 1 mM crocin reduced percentage of spermatozoa with DNA fragmentation with a marked decrement (p < 0.05) in Garganica and Saanen, as compared to the control group. Finally, intracellular ROS decreased (p < 0.01) in the crocin-treated sperm of all breeds, as compared to the control. In conclusion, supplementation of 1 mM crocin in the extender decreased oxidative stress, improving sperm motility and the DNA integrity of frozen-thawed sperm in different breeds

Evaluation of different test-day milk recording protocols by wood’s model application for the estimation of dairy goat milk and milk constituent yield

Goats have important social and economic roles in many countries because of their ability to survive and be productive in marginal areas. The overarching aim of this study was to compare the application of Wood’s model to different test-day milk recording protocols for estimation of total milk, fat, and protein yield in dairy goats. A total of 465 goats were used (Garganica, 78; Girgentana, 81; Jonica, 76; Maltese, 77; Red Mediterranean, 76; Saanen, 77). Milk yield was recorded every 15 days throughout lactation of 210 days, for a total of 14 collection days, during both morning and afternoon milking sessions. Milk samples were collected and analyzed for protein and fat. The fat-corrected milk was standardized at 35g fat/kg of milk. Wood models showed high R2 values, and thus good fitting, in all the considered breeds. Wood model applied to first, second, fourth, and sixth month recordings (C) and ICAR estimation showed total milk yield very close to Wood’s model applied to all 14 recordings (A) (p &gt; 0.38). Differently, Wood’s model applied to the first, second, third, and fourth month recording (B) estimation showed great differences (p &lt; 0.01). This could be applied for farms that had the necessity to synchronize flock groups for kidding in order to produce kid meat. In farms that apply the estrus induction and/or synchronization for kidding, it would be possible to perform only four test-day milk recordings and to apply the Wood’s model on them in order to obtain the estimation of total milk, fat, and protein yield during lactation for animals inscribed, or to be inscribed, to the genealogical book

Improving pre-operative planning of robot assisted nephron sparing surgery using three-dimensional anatomical model

Introduction Despite the introduction of robot-assisted surgery in daily clinical practice, complex renal masses are still challenging even for expert surgeon. In this scenario 3D anatomical models and augmented reality represent valuable tools for the surgeon. Materials and methods We present a challenging case where PN was mandatory to preserve the overall renal function. The patient was 69 years old, with indwelling catheter for BPH and Parkinson disease. After a single episode of hematuria with negative cystoscopy, a cT1N0M0 renal cancer was diagnosed (38 mm maximum diameter). Pre-operative three-dimensional (3D) model was obtained. After multidisciplinary discussion robot-assisted partial nephrectomy was proposed. The surgery was planned according to the anatomical model. Results Before the procedure a 7Ch single loop ureteral stent was placed. The surgery was carried out in 220 minutes. Selective ischaemia was perfomed for 24 minutes. Estimated blood loss was 400cc. No post-operative complications were observed. Ureteral stent was removed 4 days after the surgery. Definitive histological examination described a pG2-3 T1a Nx R0 clear cell renal carcinoma. Conclusion In selected cases 3D model result to be a useful tool for the pre-operative planning of the surgery

Reliability of nephrolithometric nomograms in patients treated with minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy: A precision study

Objectives: The study aimed to evaluate quality of nephrolithometric nomograms to predict stone-free rates (SFRs) and complication rates (CRs) in case of minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL). In the last decade, nomograms have been introduced to estimate the SFRs and CRs of PNL. However, no data are available regarding their reliability in case of utilization of miniaturized devices. Herein we present a prospective multicentric study to evaluate reliability of Guy's stone score (GSS), the stone size, tract length, obstruction, number of involved calyces, and essence of stone (S.T.O.N.E.) nephrolithometry score and Clinical Research Office of the Endourological Society (CROES) score in patients treated with minimally invasive PNL. Methods: We evaluated SFRs and CRs of 222 adult patients treated with miniaturized PNL. Patients were considered stone-free if no residual fragments of any size at post-operative unenhanced computed tomography scan. Patients demographics, SFRs, and CRs were reported and analysed. Performances of nomograms were evaluated with the area under the curve (AUC). Results: We included 222 patients, the AUCs of GSS, CROES score and S.T.O.N.E. nephrolithometry score were 0.69 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.61–0.78), 0.64 (95% CI 0.56–0.73), and 0.62 (95% CI 0.52–0.71), respectively. Regarding SFRs, at multivariate binomial logistic regression, only the GSS had significance with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.53 (95% CI 0.31–0.95, p=0.04). We did not find significant correlation with complications, with only a trend for GSS. Conclusion: This is the first study evaluating nomograms in miniaturized PNL. They still show good reliability; however, our data showed lower performances compared to standard PNL. We emphasize the need of further studies to confirm this trend. A dedicated nomogram for minimally invasive PNL may be necessary

Targeted JAM-C deletion in germ cells by Spo11-controlled Cre recombinase

Meiosis is a crucial process for the production of functional gametes. However, the biological significance of many genes expressed during the meiotic phase remains poorly understood, mainly because of the lethal phenotypes of the knockout mice. Functional analysis of such genes using the conditional knockout approach is hindered by the lack of suitable Cre transgenic lines. We describe here the generation of transgenic mice expressing Cre recombinase under the control of the meiotic Spo11 gene. Using LacZ-R26(loxP) and EYFP-R26(loxP) reporter mice, we show the specific expression and activity of Cre during meiosis in males and females. Spo11(Cre) mice were then crossed with floxed Nbs1 and JAM-C mice to produce conditional knockouts. A strong reduction of Nbs1 and JAM-C protein levels was found in the testis. Although Nbs1-deleted mice developed minor gonadal abnormalities, JAM-C-knockout mice showed a spermiogenetic arrest, as previously described for the null mice. These results provide strong evidence that Spo11(Cre) transgenic mice represent a powerful tool for deleting genes of interest specifically in meiotic and/or in postmeiotic germ cells