A review of the Anthicidae of the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean) (Coleoptera)

Based on the study of about 900 specimens collected recently and at the beginning of the last century, information on the Anthicidae fauna of the Maltese Islands is updated. Anthicus crinitus La Ferte-Senectere, 1849, Cyclodinus blandulus blandulus (Baudi, 1877), C. coniceps (Marseul, 1879) s.1., C. croissandeaui croissandeaui (Pic, 1892) and C.larvipennis (Marseul, 1879) all collected in Malta are new for the fauna of the islands of the Sicilian channel, whereas Omonadus bifasciatus (Rossi, 1792) and Stricticomus transversalis mel'idionalis (Pic, 1896) collected in Malta are new for the Maltese fauna. The presence of Cordicomus opaculus opaculus (Pic, 1892) and of Aulacoderus sulcithorax melitensis (Pic, 1903) in Malta is confirmed. Both records were based only on specimens collected at the beginning of last century. Moreover, A. sulcithorax melitensis is new to Italy. Elldomia tenuicollis tenuicollis (Rossi, 1792), Omonadus formicarius fOl'micarius (Goeze, 1777) and Cyclodinus constrictus (Curtis, 1838) s.1. are recorded for the first time for the Island of Gozo; C. minutus minutus (La Ferte-Senectere, 1842) is recorded for the first time for the Island of Gozo and from Manoel Island; C. debilis (La Ferte-Senectere, 1849) is new to the Island of Malta, whereas Anthicus fenestratus Schmidt, 1842, Allthicus tristis tristis Schmidt, 1842 and Cordicomus istanbilis instabilis (Schmidt, 1842) are new to the Island of Comino. Some new records of Anthicidae from Pantelleria and Lampedusa (Italy) are included. A zoogeographical analysis and an updated checklist of the 27 species of Anthicidae currently known from the islands of the Sicilian channel (Pantelleria, Maltese and Pelagic Islands) are provided. 119 Anthicus larvipennis ssp. mongolensis Medvedev, 1974 from Mongolia is raised to species level and formally transferred to the genus Cyclodinus Mulsant & Rey, 1866: C. mongolensis (Medvedev, 1974) (new rank). Finally, a primary homonomy is indicated for Anthicus robustissimus var. pallidior Pic, 1948 not Anthicus (Aulacoderus) sulcithorax var. pallidior Pic, 1941. The second one, according to the Code, is placed as a subspecies.peer-reviewe

First Maltese record of Stephanopachys quadricollis (Marseul, 1879) (Coleoptera, Bostrichidae)

Three specimens of Stephanopachys quadricollis (Marseul, 1878) were recently found in Malta in UV light traps and represent the first record of this species for this country. Although S. quadricollis is native to the Mediterranean basin, it is not yet clear if these Maltese records are due to a natural population or to an interception. Distributional, nomenclatural and biological data on this species are summarized, and a new synonymy is established: Stephanopachys quadricollis (Marseul, 1879) = Stephanopachys quadraticollis Kocher, 1956, syn. n.peer-reviewe

The Aderids of the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean) (Coleoptera, Aderidae)

The Aderidae is a small family of beetles within the Heteromera with about 1200 species worldwide (Lawrence et al., 1990). All genera are in need of revision and their phylogenetic relationships within the family are unknown (cf. Lawrence & Newton, 1995). Little information is available on their biology, and only a few larvae have been described (Hayashi, 1972; Lawrence et al., 1990; Young, 1991;Yanega & Leschen, 1995). Only one species has been recorded from the Maltese Islands (Cameron & Caruana Gatto, 1907). The study of recently collected material, confirmed the presence of this species and adds a. new record. The following works were consulted for species identifications: Baguena Corella (1948), Borowiec & Tarnawski (1983), Kaszab (1956, 1969), Pic (1903), Porta (1934) and Werner (1990). The classification and sequence of species follow the checklist of the Italian Fauna (Angelini et al., 1995). All material was collected by one of us (DM), and is deposited in the collections of the authors.peer-reviewe

New records of adephagous water beetles (Coleoptera : Gyrinidae, Haliplidae, Dytiscidae) from the Maltese Islands

The following new records of Hydradephaga from the Maltese Islands are reported: Gyrinus (Gyrinus) urinator Illiger, Agabus (Gaurodytes) bipustulatus (Linnaeus), Cybister (Cybister) tripunctatus africanus Laporte, Eretes griseus (Fabricius) and Hydaticus (Prodaticus) leander (Rossi). With the exception of Eretes griseus (Fabricius), all other records are also new for the fauna of the islands of the Sicilian Channel. The presence in Malta of Colymbetes fuscus (Linnaeus), recorded only in the beginning of last century, is confirmed. Dytiscus circumflexus Fabricius is also recorded for the first time for the island of Gozo.peer-reviewe

Measuring saproxylic beetle diversity in small and medium diameter dead wood: The "grab-and-go" method

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Quantifying Carotid Stenosis: History, Current Applications, Limitations, and Potential: How Imaging Is Changing the Scenario

Carotid artery stenosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The journey to understanding carotid disease has developed over time and radiology has a pivotal role in diagnosis, risk stratification and therapeutic management. This paper reviews the history of diagnostic imaging in carotid disease, its evolution towards its current applications in the clinical and research fields, and the potential of new technologies to aid clinicians in identifying the disease and tailoring medical and surgical treatment

Unilateral Application of Cathodal tDCS Reduces Transcallosal Inhibition and Improves Visual Acuity in Amblyopic Patients

Objective: Amblyopia is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by visual acuity and contrast sensitivity loss, refractory to pharmacological and optical treatments in adulthood. In animals, the corpus callosum (CC) contributes to suppression of visual responses of the amblyopic eye. To investigate the role of interhemispheric pathways in amblyopic patients, we studied the response of the visual cortex to transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) applied over the primary visual area (V1) contralateral to the "lazy eye." Methods: Visual acuity (logMAR) was assessed before (T0), immediately after (T1) and 60' following the application of cathodal tDCS (2.0 mA, 20') in 12 amblyopic patients. At each time point, Visual Evoked Potentials (VEPs) triggered by grating stimuli of different contrasts (K90%, K20%) were recorded in both hemispheres and compared to those obtained in healthy volunteers. Results: Cathodal tDCS improved visual acuity respect to baseline (p < 0.0001), whereas sham polarization had no significant effect. At T1, tDCS induced an inhibitory effect on VEPs amplitudes at all contrasts in the targeted side and a facilitation of responses in the hemisphere ipsilateral to the amblyopic eye; compared with controls, the facilitation persisted at T2 for high contrasts (K90%; Holm-Sidak post hoc method, p < 0.001), while the stimulated hemisphere recovered more quickly from inhibition (Holm-Sidak post hoc method, p < 0.001). Conclusions: tDCS is a promising treatment for amblyopia in adults. The rapid recovery of excitability and the concurrent transcallosal disinhibition following perturbation of cortical activity may support a critical role of interhemispheric balance in the pathophysiology of amblyopia

Long-term Oncological Outcome of Segmental Versus Extended Colectomy for Colorectal Cancer in Crohn's Disease: Results from an International Multicentre Study

Background and Aims Crohn's disease increases colorectal cancer risk, with high prevalence of synchronous and metachronous cancers. Current guidelines for colorectal cancer in Crohn's disease recommend pan-proctocolectomy. The aim of this study was to evaluate oncological outcomes of a less invasive surgical approach. Methods This was a retrospective database analysis of Crohn's disease patients with colorectal cancer undergoing surgery at selected European and US tertiary centres. Outcomes of segmental colectomy were compared with those of extended colectomy, total colectomy, and pan-proctocolectomy. Primary outcome was progression-free survival. Secondary outcomes included overall survival, synchronous and metachronous colorectal cancer, and major postoperative complications. Results Ninety-nine patients were included: 66 patients underwent segmental colectomy and 33 extended colectomy. Segmental colectomy patients were older [p = 0.0429], had less extensive colitis [p = 0.0002] and no preoperatively identified synchronous lesions [p = 0.0109]. Median follow-up was 43 [31-62] months. There was no difference in unadjusted progression-free survival [p = 0.2570] or in overall survival [p = 0.4191] between segmental and extended colectomy. Multivariate analysis adjusting for age, sex, ASA score, and AJCC staging, confirmed no difference for progression-free survival (hazard ratio [HR] 1.00, p = 0.9993) or overall survival [HR 0.77, p = 0.6654]. Synchronous and metachronous cancers incidence was 9% and 1.5%, respectively. Perioperative mortality was nil and major complications were comparable [7.58% vs 6.06%, p = 0.9998]. Conclusions Segmental colectomy seems to offer similar long-term outcomes to more extensive surgery. Incidence of synchronous and metachronous cancers appears much lower than previously described. Further prospective studies are warranted to confirm these results

Survey of selected beetle families in a floodplain remnant in northern Italy

Abstract The highly fragmented floodplain forest remnants of the river Po (Italy) are protected at the European level, but surprisingly little is known about their ecology and in particular their invertebrate fauna. The present work investigates 11 selected beetle families sampled in the reserve of Isola Boscone (Lombardy Region, Mantua Province), which is situated inside the embankments of the Po. Twelve window traps were attached to dead trees, either in open and sun-exposed situations (n = 6) or in the understorey of small forest patches (n = 6), and were active from 16 June to 3 November 2009. The following 11 beetle families were studied: Histeridae, Lucanidae, Scarabaeidae, Lissomidae, Elateridae, Buprestidae, Cleridae, Aderidae, Tenebrionidae, Cerambycidae, Anthribidae. A total of 495 individuals belonging to 53 species were collected, including five species of particular faunistic interest. The species Aegosoma scabricorne (Scopoli) and Dissoleucas niveirostris (F.) were associated with the forest habitat, while Chlorophorus varius (Muller), Dorcus parallelipipedus (L.) and Nalassus dryadophilus (Mulsant) were associated with the open habitat. Analyses of the abundance data revealed that the traps from the two habitat types differed in their community composition and that more species were caught in the open habitat. However, individual-based rarefaction curves showed that species richness did not differ when the number of species was plotted in relation to the number of individuals caught. This finding shows that richness estimates need to be interpreted with caution. The study also highlights that monitoring of beetles in floodplain forest remnants is complicated by recurrent floods

Modelling Environmental Niche for the Endangered Crayfish Austropotamobius pallipesComplex in Northern and Central Italy

The potential distribution of endangered species is a necessary step to assess species conservation status and manage reintroduction plans. In the context of a EU project on the endangered Austropotamobius pallipescomplex, we modelled the environmental niche of the species in two large areas of Northern (Lombardy, 43 records) and Central Italy (Abruzzo, Province of Isernia, Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park; 69 records). Ecological niche models (ENMs) were built by using the maximum entropy approach as implemented in the MaxEnt software, which predicts the occurrence of a species using presence-only data. The environmental niche was modelled using six variables: altitude, slope, aspect, human disturbance, mean temperature of warmest quarter and distance from stream. Each study area was modelled independently. Both ENMs obtained high performance scores as measured by the AUC index (Northern Italy: 0.854; Central Italy: 0.817). Slope in Northern Italy and the mean temperature of warmest quarter in Central Italy achieved the greatest predictive power. Our results clearly show that the endangered white-clawed crayfish has a narrow range of habitat selection in the two study areas. Our findings may help researchers to select the best sites for future reintroductions in conservation projects