25 research outputs found
Snap-shot assessment of adult mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) densities on the Turks and Caicos Islands, February 2022
In many of the small island communities of the Caribbean, much of the vector surveillance effort is focussed on house-to-house peri-focal surveys to collect data on larval indices. Adult mosquito trapping is not always routine or affordable and is usually focussed on ad hoc biting issues or small-scale investigations. This makes understanding the relative importance and densities of the common urban mosquitoes, such as Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus, problematic. This snap-shot survey in February 2022 using BG-Sentinel traps at 30 different locations across five islands of the Turks and Caicos, aimed to provide the first island-wide assessment of urban mosquito densities. In total, 2,820 adult mosquitoes were collected over 285 trap nights. Aedes aegypti was most common on the island of Providenciales, with very low densities recorded on South Caicos, North and Middle Caicos, with Ae. aegypti most highly abundant in the main commercial centres. The highest densities of Cx. quinquefasciatus were trapped on North Caicos. Small numbers of other species were also collected, including the first record of Anopheles in TCI. This established framework of trapping and initial assessment provides a platform for continued monitoring of mosquitoes in TCI to better inform mosquito-borne disease risk assessment and future vector control efforts
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Mosquito diversity and abundance in English wetlands â empirical evidence to guide predictions for wetland suitability for mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae)
The absence of habitat-based guidance for wetland managers on the British mosquito assemblages has in recent years prevented
development of the ecological aspect of medical entomology in the UK. This has been particularly relevant in the context
of emerging mosquito-borne disease and the creation of wetlands for biodiversity and flood-alleviation goals. This study
aimed to provide empirically derived habitat-based predictions in order to assess the suitability of English wetland habitats for
mosquitoes. Entomological field data on mosquito density and diversity were collected at 12 English wetlands in 2017 and 2018
using immature and adult mosquito surveys. Wetlands were chosen representing a number of wetland categories that included
coastal, urban, wet woodland and established freshwater wetlands to identify key species and functional groups to inform predictions
of mosquitoes by aquatic habitat type. Nineteen species were recorded from eight functional groups, totalling 38,577
adult female (19 mosquito species groups) and ~2,000 immature mosquitoes in 13 aquatic habitat types. Approximately 90%
of all trapped mosquitoes were attributed to one of five species groups. The most common species were: Aedes (Och.) caspius
(Pallas, 1771) (~35% of all mosquitoes), associated with coastal estuarine and flooded grassland sites, Ae. cantans/annulipes
(19.7%) in wet woodland field sites, Anopheles claviger (16.2%) and Coquillettidia richiardii (12.6%) with the widest occurrence,
found in nearly all field sites, and Ae. detritus (6.9%) in brackish field sites. Across the study, adult mosquito activity increased
from week 21 with wet woodland Aedes mosquitoes, until week 40 with open-flood water species, with greatest diversity of
species during weeks 23â30. The resulting data inform efforts towards developing predictive tools for non-entomologists to
accurately predict the presence and abundance of British mosquitoes in a given habitat, using local knowledge of seasonal
aquatic habitats
Validation of the ADFICE_IT Models for Predicting Falls and Recurrent Falls in Geriatric Outpatients
Objectives: Before being used in clinical practice, a prediction model should be tested in patients whose data were not used in model development. Previously, we developed the ADFICE_IT models for predicting any fall and recurrent falls, referred as Any_fall and Recur_fall. In this study, we externally validated the models and compared their clinical value to a practical screening strategy where patients are screened for falls history alone. Design: Retrospective, combined analysis of 2 prospective cohorts. Setting and Participants: Data were included of 1125 patients (aged â„65 years) who visited the geriatrics department or the emergency department. Methods: We evaluated the models' discrimination using the C-statistic. Models were updated using logistic regression if calibration intercept or slope values deviated significantly from their ideal values. Decision curve analysis was applied to compare the modelsâ clinical value (ie, net benefit) against that of falls history for different decision thresholds. Results: During the 1-year follow-up, 428 participants (42.7%) endured 1 or more falls, and 224 participants (23.1%) endured a recurrent fall (â„2 falls). C-statistic values were 0.66 (95% CI 0.63-0.69) and 0.69 (95% CI 0.65-0.72) for the Any_fall and Recur_fall models, respectively. Any_fall overestimated the fall risk and we therefore updated only its intercept whereas Recur_fall showed good calibration and required no update. Compared with falls history, Any_fall and Recur_fall showed greater net benefit for decision thresholds of 35% to 60% and 15% to 45%, respectively.Conclusions and Implications: The models performed similarly in this data set of geriatric outpatients as in the development sample. This suggests that fall-risk assessment tools that were developed in community-dwelling older adults may perform well in geriatric outpatients. We found that in geriatric outpatients the models have greater clinical value across a wide range of decision thresholds compared with screening for falls history alone.</p
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Additive multiple predator effects can reduce mosquito populations
1. Multiple predator interactions may profoundly alter ecological community dynamics and can complicate predictions of simpler pairwise predatorâprey interaction strengths. In particular, multiple predator effects may lessen or enhance prey risk, with implications for communityâlevel stability. Such emergent effects may modulate natural enemy efficacy towards target organisms.
2. In the present study, a functional response approach was used to quantify emergent multiple predator effects among natural enemies towards the disease vector mosquito complex, Culex pipiens. Conspecific multiple predatorâpredator interactions of the cyclopoid copepod Macrocyclops albidus (intermediate predator) were quantified by comparing multiple predator consumption simulations, based on individual consumption rates, with multiple predator consumption rates that were experimentally observed. Further, the study examined the influence of the presence of a predator at a higher trophic level, Chaoborus flavicans, on copepod group predation.
3. Both predators displayed type II functional responses, with C. flavicans consuming significantly more prey than M. albidus individually. Overall consumption levels of mosquitoes increased with greater predator density and richness. Antagonistic or synergistic emergent multiple predator effects between conspecifics of M. albidus were not detected, and the higherâlevel predator did not reduce effects of the intermediate predator. Accordingly, evidence for additive multiple predator interactions was found.
4. The lack of predatorâpredator interference between cyclopoid copepods and larval chaoborid midges provides strong support for their combined application in mosquito biocontrol. It is proposed that there should be increased examination of multiple predator effects in assessments of natural enemy efficacies to better understand overall predatory effects within communities and utilities in vector control
Woodland biodiversity management as a tool for reducing human exposure to Ixodes ricinus ticks: a preliminary study in an English woodland
This paper presents preliminary findings towards developing a UK-specific approach to reducing public exposure to woodland questing Ixodes ricinus tick populations by harnessing existing biodiversity-enhancing woodland ride (i.e., linear non-wooded herbaceous habitat either side of track within woodland) management strategies. This preliminary study in an English woodland firstly assesses whether ecological and environmental factors determine presence and density of questing Ixodes ricinus along woodland rides. Secondly, it sets these findings in the context of woodland ride management guidelines in England in order to understand what impact ride management strategies might have on numbers of questing ticks and tick survival. Nymph and adult I. ricinus presence and abundance were modelled in relation to relevant microclimate and ecological parameter variables. Predictor variables for increased questing nymph abundance included ride orientation, mat depth, occurrence of bracken/bramble and animal tracks, ride/path width, and sward height. Ticks thrive in the ecotonal habitat of a woodland ride, therefore we urge woodland managers to consider the impact of their ride management on ticks and human exposure to ticks. Possible recommendations for mitigating questing I. ricinus in line with biodiversity management guidelines rides are discussed in this paper and include seasonal mowing regimes, management of mulch/mat, and bracken/bramble management through use of scalloped ride edge
Cavity wall adaptation and voids in adhesive Class I resin composite restorations
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The first 6 years of surveillance of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Gibraltar
Following the expansion of the invasive mosquito Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) through Spain along the Mediterranean coast, mosquito surveillance was established in Gibraltar in 2016. This paper reports on the first detection of Ae. albopictus in Gibraltar in 2017 as well as subsequent efforts to monitor the establishment of the species, including longitudinal data over several years since 2018, and results of a snapshot survey in 2021 on adult mosquito density. Aedes albopictus has become established across most of Gibraltar, with defined seasonality from August to October, slightly later than the peak in Culex pipiens densities. The larval habitats for Ae. albopictus remain largely enigmatic. Mosquito samples tested for chikungunya and West Nile virus were all found to be negative, and this paper includes recommendations for future control efforts and infectious disease risk assessment