A review of Piasites Seyrig (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Cryptinae), with description of seven new species

The taxonomic limits of the Malagasy genus Piasites Seyrig are reviewed. The genus is redescribed and compared to other similar taxa, especially the Afrotropical Bozakites Seyrig. The type species, P. carinatus Seyrig, is redescribed; its extensive colour variation is described and discussed. Seven new species are described and illustrated: P. lineatus, P. nigricollis, P. orbitalis, P. perinetensis, P. politus, P. quasimodus and P. seyrigi. An identification key to the species is presented.Most of this work was accomplished during a scientific visit by the first author to the MNHN funded by the University of Alicante, Spain (Programa Propio para el fomento de la I+D+i de la Universidad de Alicante 2021, Vicerrectorado de Investigación, Ref. ACIE21-03)

New species of Nesolinoceras Ashmead.

16 pages : color illustrations, map ; 26 cm.The generic limits of Nesolinoceras Ashmead are redefined. The genus is characterized by the supraclypeal and supraantennal areas covered by distinct, uniformly spaced striae; antenna without white band; foretibia distinctly swollen, fusiform; forewing with extensive fuscous bands; areolet large, pentagonal, longer than wide, distinctly convergent; spiracle of first metasomal tergite placed at midlength; and ventral valve of ovipositor apically dilated and overlapping dorsal valve as a lobe. The type species, N. ornatipennis (Cresson) is redescribed, illustrated, and newly recorded from the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands. A new species, N. laluzbrillante, sp. nov., is described from the Dominican Republic. It is diagnosed mainly by having mesopleuron, propodeum, and metasoma extensively marked with blackish and whitish stripes and spots; clypeus in front view with base almost as wide as apex; central ocellus about as large as lateral ones; epicnemial carina short, reaching only 0.4 of length to subalar ridge; and areolet crossveins 2r-m and 3r-m distinctly convergent, but far from meeting on anterior apex of areolet. Previously thought to be restricted to Cuba, Nesolinoceras seems to be relatively widespread in the Caribbean Islands

Mesotelioma deciduóide pleural: uma entidade rara numa mulher jovem

Deciduoid Mesothelioma is a rare variant of epithelioid mesothelioma; it was initially thought that it only occurred in the peritoneum of young women and had nothing to do with asbestos exposure. However, since these early findings it has also been observed in the pleura and the pericardium, with possible association to asbestos. In general the prognosis is poor compared to epithelioid mesothelioma. 45 cases have been reported in the literature up to now, 22 of these were located in the pleural cavity. The authors describe a case of deciduoid pleural mesothelioma in a 40-year-old-woman who presented with right pleuritic chest pain, with no history of asbestos exposure, treated with chemotherapy followed by surgery and who died postoperatively

Local influences of geothermal anomalies on permafrost distribution in an active volcanic island (Deception Island, Antarctica)

This study aims at understanding the spatial distribution and characteristics of the frozen and unfrozen terrain in an alluvial fan on Deception Island, which is an active strato-volcano located in the Bransfield Strait (South Shetland Islands) with recent eruptions in 1967, 1969 and 1970. The alluvial fan is dominated by debris-flow, run-off and rock fall processes and permafrost occurs in several parts in the vicinity of anomalous geothermal heat flux. The aim is to assess the ways volcanic activity controls permafrost development and associated geomorphic dynamics using shallow subsurface, surface and air temperature measurements as well as thaw depth and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys.Results show a temperature increase with depth in the lower part of the fan reaching 13 °C at 0.80 m depth, without the presence of permafrost. The shallow borehole located at this site showed a stable thermal stratification all year-round, with only the upper 0.20 m reacting to meteorological forcing. In the upper part of the alluvial fan and debris cones, c. 100 m from the coast, frozen ground is present at c. 0.70 m depth. There, the shallow borehole shows a good coupling with air temperatures and the thermal regime favours the presence of permafrost. ERT shows the lowest resistivity values in the lower part of the alluvial fan and a highly resistivity zone in the upper sector of the fan and in the debris cones. These large variations in resistivity mark the presence of a saline water wedge from the sea into the fan, reaching frozen ground conditions about 100 m inland. It can be shown that the volcano-hydrothermal activity only inhibits frost development very locally, with frozen ground conditions occurring about 100 m away

Assessment of "social" and "economic" sustainability in peri-urban territories: A proposal of methodological framework and its application to Lisbon Metropolitan Area

Carried out within the framework of the multidisciplinary research project PERIURBAN (Peri-urban areas faced with the challenges of sustainability: developing scenarios for Lisbon Metropolitan Area) this article aims to propose, discuss and implement criteria for assessing the sustainability of peri-metropolitan territories at the social and economic level, starting from its application to the specific case of 5 parishes in Lisbon Metropolitan area.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Water prospection in volcanic islands by Time Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) surveying: The case study of the islands of Fogo and Santo Antão in Cape Verde

Water demand in islands, focused in agriculture, domestic use and tourism, is usually supplied by groundwater. Thus the information about groundwater distribution is an important issue in islands water resources management. Time Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) provides underground resistivity distribution at greater depths and is of easier application than other methods. In this study TDEM technique was used for groundwater prospection in two volcanic islands with water supply problems, the islands of Fogo and Santo Antão in the Republic of Cape Verde. The 10 islands of Cape Verde Archipelago, located off the coast of Senegal (W Africa), present a semi-arid climate and thus suffer from irregular and scarce precipitation. In the Island of Fogo 26 TDEM soundings, presenting an area distribution, were performed on the SW flank of the volcanic edifice. These allowed obtaining a 3D model composed of 5 layers parallel to the topographic surface separated by 50 m depth down to − 250 m. The results indicate the presence of the water-table at a depth of 150 m in the lower ranges of the W flank of the island, and at > 200 m depth in the area above 250 m above sea level (a.s.l.). In the Island of Santo Antão 32 TDEM soundings, distributed along 5 linear profiles, were obtained on the north-eastern half of the island. The profiles are located in two regions exposed to different humidity conditions to the N and S of the main water divide. The northern flank receives the dominant trade winds first and most of the precipitation and, therefore, the water-table is shallower (~ 50 m depth) than in the S (~ 100 m depth). Our study demonstrates the applicability and usefulness of the TDEM method for groundwater prospection in high resistivity contexts such as in volcanic islands.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Levantamento de Meloidogyne exigua na cultura da seringueira em São José do Rio Claro, MT, Brasil.

Este trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de efetuar um levantamento da ocorrência de Meloidogyne e exigua em seringueira em São José do Rio Claro, MT. Foram amostradas 191 propriedades agríccolas, totalizando cerca de 18.000ha. Os nematóides foram identificados no Laboratório de Nematologia do Departamento de Fitossanidade da FCAV/UNESP, em Jaboticabal, SP. Foram encontrados níveis populacionais de M. exigua entre 0 e 61.824 juvenis/5g de raízes

The Influence of Dentin Age and the Presence of Cracks in Removal of the Root Filling Material

Introduction: This study evaluated the removal of the filling material during endodontic retreatment considering the presence of cracks and the dentin age. Methods and Materials: A total of 20 freshly extracted single-rooted teeth were categorized into the following two groups according to the age of the patients: Group Young (Y; aged 18-30 years) and Group Old (O; aged ≥60 years). Each tooth specimen was scanned by microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) subsequently after endodontic retreatment with the Reciproc instruments (REC). The images were analyzed for differences in the volume of dentin cracks and the presence of the filling material in the middle and apical thirds of the teeth among the groups, according to the dentin age. Results: The micro-CT images showed that after retreatment, there were more cracks in the old root dentin than those in the young root dentin, although the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The greatest reduction in the filling material was achieved when the old root dentin with cracks was retreated when compared with that of the young root dentin with cracks, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: The dentinal age and the presence of cracks were not found to be relevant factors for the removal of the filling material.Keywords: Dentin; Microcomputed Tomography; Retreatmen

Differential regulation of PGC-1α expression in rat liver and skeletal muscle in response to voluntary running

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The beneficial actions of exercise training on lipid, glucose and energy metabolism and insulin sensitivity appear to be in part mediated by PGC-1α. Previous studies have shown that spontaneously exercised rats show at rest enhanced responsiveness to exogenous insulin, lower plasma insulin levels and increased skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity. This study was initiated to examine the functional interaction between exercise-induced modulation of skeletal muscle and liver PGC-1α protein expression, whole body insulin sensitivity, and circulating FFA levels as a measure of whole body fatty acid (lipid) metabolism.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Two groups of male Wistar rats (2 Mo of age, 188.82 ± 2.77 g BW) were used in this study. One group consisted of control rats placed in standard laboratory cages. Exercising rats were housed individually in cages equipped with running wheels and allowed to run at their own pace for 5 weeks. At the end of exercise training, insulin sensitivity was evaluated by comparing steady-state plasma glucose (SSPG) concentrations at constant plasma insulin levels attained during the continuous infusion of glucose and insulin to each experimental group. Subsequently, soleus and plantaris muscle and liver samples were collected and quantified for PGC-1α protein expression by Western blotting. Collected blood samples were analyzed for glucose, insulin and FFA concentrations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Rats housed in the exercise wheel cages demonstrated almost linear increases in running activity with advancing time reaching to maximum value around 4 weeks. On an average, the rats ran a mean (Mean ± SE) of 4.102 ± 0.747 km/day and consumed significantly more food as compared to sedentary controls (<it>P </it>< 0.001) in order to meet their increased caloric requirement. Mean plasma insulin (<it>P </it>< 0.001) and FFA (<it>P </it>< 0.006) concentrations were lower in the exercise-trained rats as compared to sedentary controls. Mean steady state plasma insulin (SSPI) and glucose (SSPG) concentrations were not significantly different in sedentary control rats as compared to exercise-trained animals. Plantaris PGC-1α protein expression increased significantly from a 1.11 ± 0.12 in the sedentary rats to 1.74 ± 0.09 in exercising rats (<it>P </it>< 0.001). However, exercise had no effect on PGC-1α protein content in either soleus muscle or liver tissue. These results indicate that exercise training selectively up regulates the PGC-1α protein expression in high-oxidative fast skeletal muscle type such as plantaris muscle.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These data suggest that PGC-1α most likely plays a restricted role in exercise-mediated improvements in insulin resistance (sensitivity) and lowering of circulating FFA levels.</p