The Baltic prawn Palaemon adspersus Rathke, 1837 (Decapoda, Caridea, Palaemonidae): first record, possible establishment, and illustrated key of the subfamily Palaemoninae in northwest Atlantic waters

This study documents the introduction of the European Baltic prawn, Palaemon adspersus Rathke, 1837 to the coastal waters of northeastern North America, specifically the west coast of Newfoundland and the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. Species identification was verified using morphological and genetic criteria. In September 2011, the first specimens of P. adspersus were collected in Gulf of St. Lawrence waters near Stephenville Crossing, Newfoundland, Canada. In 2012, additional P. adspersus specimens were collected in this area and at St. Andrew’s, located further south in western Newfoundland and in 2013 several egg-bearing females were collected further north in York Harbour. Accidental transport by ballast water of ships seems the likely vector for transport of Baltic prawn to the Gulf of St. Lawrence from Northern Europe or the Caspian Sea. It is possible that this shrimp has a wider presence in Atlantic Canadian waters but, due to its close resemblance to native shrimp species, it may have been previously misidentified, as occurred with specimens collected from the Magdalen Islands. We further expect that other species of the genus Palaemon, including P. elegans Rathke, 1837 from the Baltic Sea or northeastern United States, and P. macrodactylus Rathbun, 1902 from the northeastern United States, may invade the Gulf of St. Lawrence. We provide an illustrated key for the identification of these exotic Palaemon species and to differentiate them from native members of the subfamily Palaemoninae.Funding for this project was provided by the Government of Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans and AGL2011-23689 grant from the Spanish government (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad). Financial support to EGO was provided by a Marie Curie fellowship with European funds.Peer reviewe

Street Performance Assessment in Havana, Cuba

This note summarises the outcomes of a 'walkshop' conducted in May 2019 with local residents in Havana, Cuba, including practitioners from the national and municipal planning and transport authorities in Havana, researchers, and students. Participants walked along Galiano Street in the area of Centro Habana and completed a street performance assessment for in Havana, Cuba. Participants walked along the street and assessed 23 attributes of the street environment

Global variation in diabetes diagnosis and prevalence based on fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c

Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are both used to diagnose diabetes, but these measurements can identify different people as having diabetes. We used data from 117 population-based studies and quantified, in different world regions, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, and whether those who were previously undiagnosed and detected as having diabetes in survey screening, had elevated FPG, HbA1c or both. We developed prediction equations for estimating the probability that a person without previously diagnosed diabetes, and at a specific level of FPG, had elevated HbA1c, and vice versa. The age-standardized proportion of diabetes that was previously undiagnosed and detected in survey screening ranged from 30% in the high-income western region to 66% in south Asia. Among those with screen-detected diabetes with either test, the age-standardized proportion who had elevated levels of both FPG and HbA1c was 29–39% across regions; the remainder had discordant elevation of FPG or HbA1c. In most low- and middle-income regions, isolated elevated HbA1c was more common than isolated elevated FPG. In these regions, the use of FPG alone may delay diabetes diagnosis and underestimate diabetes prevalence. Our prediction equations help allocate finite resources for measuring HbA1c to reduce the global shortfall in diabetes diagnosis and surveillance

Spatio-temporal distribution of early life stages of the European anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus L. within a European temperate estuary with regulated freshwater inflow: effects of environmental variables

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