New data on armoured scale insects (Hemiptera, Coccoidea, Diaspididae) from the Azores Islands

This short communication presents new records of four species of armoured scale insects (Diaspididae) which were recently collected from the Azores Islands. Two of these species, indicated below by an asterisk, are here reported for the first time from these islands. Voucher specimens of these records are deposited in the Coccoidea Collection of the first author

”Where is your nose?” : developing body awareness skills among children with autism using a humanoid robot

This article describes an exploratory study in which children with autism interact with KASPAR, a humanoid robot, equipped with tactile sensors able to distinguish a gentle from a harsh touch, and to respond accordingly. The study investigated a novel scenario for robot-assisted play, namely to increase body awareness with tasks that taught the children about the identification of human body parts. Based on our analysis of the childrens behaviours while interacting with KASPAR, our results show that the children started looking for a longer period of time to the experimenter, and a lot of interest in touching the robot was observed. They also show that the robot can be considered as a tool for prolonging the attention span of the children, being a social mediator during the interaction between the child and the experimenter. The results are primarily based on the analysis of video data of the interaction. Overall, this first study into teaching children with autism about body parts using a humanoid robot highlighted issues of scenario development, data collection and data analysis that will inform future studies.(undefined

Effects of adjunctive eslicarbazepine acetate on serum lipids in patients with partial-onset seizures: Impact of concomitant statins and enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) on lipid metabolism and to determine whether reduced statin exposure during ESL therapy has clinical consequences. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We conducted a post-hoc analysis of pooled data for serum lipids (laboratory values) from three phase III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of adjunctive ESL therapy (400, 800, or 1200 mg once daily) in patients with treatment-refractory partial-onset seizures. Changes from baseline in serum lipid levels were analyzed according to use of statins and/or enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs (EIAEDs) during the baseline period. KEY FINDINGS: In total, 426 and 1021 placebo- and ESL-treated patients, respectively, were included in the analysis. With regard to the changes from baseline in serum concentrations, there were statistically significant differences between the placebo and ESL 1200 mg QD groups, for both total cholesterol (TC) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), but the effect sizes were small (+4.1 mg/dL and +1.8 mg/dL, respectively). A small but significant difference in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; -5.0 mg/dL) was observed between the ESL 400 mg QD group and the placebo group. In patients not taking a concomitant EIAED, there were no changes with ESL 400 mg QD, but modest and statistically significant increases in cholesterol fractions (TC, LDL-C and HDL-C) with ESL 800 mg QD (/dL) and ESL 1200 mg QD (/dL). ESL had no consistent effect on lipids in patients taking a concomitant EIAED. In patients taking statins during baseline, there were no clinically relevant changes in serum lipids during use of ESL, although the subgroups were small. SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that ESL does not appear to have clinically significant effects on serum lipids, nor does the pharmacokinetic interaction between ESL and statins have an impact on serum lipid concentrations

Análise da distância e intensidade dos deslocamentos, numa partida de futsal, nas diferentes posições de jogo

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the distance and the intensity in the characteristics of displacements (walking, trotting, running, lateral and back displacement) in a futsal match in different game positions, during the IV Edition of Capão da Canoa Cup - RS. For this the athletes of the teams (UPF / Zamil, ACBF, Inter Ulbra and Vasco da Gama), were submitted to Withers’ test (1982), with the purpose of identifying each player’s specific stride length characteristic of each displacement. Players were filmed during six games of the cup, and, all games occured in the same place. The sixteen athletes that took part of the sample were divided in four game positions (goalkeeper, fixed, lineman and pivot), it was accomplished through the largest time of participation in court. For analysis of the intensities of the activities, it was selected as activity of low intensity of the back, sides and walk displacements, as medium intensity trotting and as high intensity the race. For the Analysis of Variance was used - Anova - One Way and the test of post-hoc of Tukey, to verify differences between positions and displacements being adopted the level of significance of 5 and 1%. The results presented significant differences between the goalkeepers and the other positions, in the displacements of trotting and running, in the displacement back it was verified that linemen accomplished a smaller distance in this displacement than the other positions, in lateral and in walking displacement there was not significant difference among the positions. It was also verified significant differences among some displacements inside of the characteristic of each position, the Goalkeepers were the athletes that stayed more in court during the games, while the Pivots were the one more substituted and they participated more from the activities of high intensity, verifying so the specificity among the game positions.O presente estudo teve por finalidade avaliar a distância e a intensidade nas características dos deslocamentos (andar, trotar, correr, deslocamento lateral e deslocamento para trás) numa partida de futsal nas diferentes posições de jogo, na IV edição da Copa Capão da Canoa - RS. Para tal, os atletas das equipes (UPF/Zamil, ACBF, Inter/Ulbra e Vasco da Gama) foram submetidos ao teste de WITHERS et al. (1982), com a finalidade de identificar o comprimento da passada específica de cada jogador na característica de cada deslocamento. Os jogadores foram filmados durante os seis jogos da copa, todos foram realizados no mesmo local. A escolha dos 16 atletas que fizeram parte da amostra, divididos em quatro atletas por característica de posição (goleiro, fixo, ala e pivô), foi realizada pelo maior tempo de participação em quadra. Para a análise das intensidades das atividades, selecionaram-se como atividade de baixa intensidade os deslocamentos para trás, para os lados e andar; como média intensidade, o trotar e, como alta intensidade, a corrida. Foi utilizado a Análise de Variância - Anova - One Way e o teste de post-hoc de Tukey, para verificar diferenças entre posições e deslocamentos, adotando-se o nível de significância de 5 e 1%. Os resultados apresentaram diferenças significativas entre os goleiros e as demais posições nos deslocamentos de trotar e correr. No deslocamento para trás observou-se que os alas realizaram uma menor distância neste deslocamento que as demais posições e no deslocamento lateral e no andar não houve diferença significativa entre as posições. Foi possível detectar também diferenças significativas entre alguns deslocamentos dentro da característica de cada posição: os goleiros foram os atletas que mais permaneceram em quadra durante os jogos, ao passo que os pivôs foram os mais substituídos e participaram mais das atividades de alta intensidade, verificando-se assim, a especificidade entre as posições de jogo

Epidemiological Risk Factors and Modelling Approaches for Risk Assessment of Lumpy Skin Disease Virus Introduction and Spread: Methodological Review and Implications for Risk-Based Surveillance in Australia

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a vector-borne infection caused by the poxvirus lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) and is a serious disease of cattle, water buffalo, and banteng. While the disease has never occurred in Australia, it is regarded as a growing threat to the Australian cattle industry as there is on-going spread of the disease throughout Asia. The development of geospatial decision support tools, such as spatial epidemiological modelling, may assist in assessing areas at greater risk of this threat. To guide the design of disease modelling approaches to support future risk-based surveillance, existing LSDV epidemiological models need to be evaluated. In this study, we performed a literature review to evaluate existing LSDV epidemiological models, identify key risk factors for introduction and spread of LSDV, and consider previously adopted control strategies. The PRISMA guidelines were used to establish the processes for article selection and information extraction, and the PICO process was used to formulate search terms. From studies that met our inclusion criteria, we extracted information on LSDV epidemiological model structure and parameterisation, risk factors for LSDV transmission and spread, and biosecurity control strategies. The literature search retrieved a total of 402 articles from four databases, of which 68 were identified for inclusion in this review following screening. Of the 68 articles reviewed, 47 explored risk factors associated with LSDV transmission and spread, four explored risk factors of LSDV introduction, four explored existing surveillance strategies in LSD-free countries, and 14 presented epidemiological models. Our findings indicate that there are various risk factors for LSDV transmission in LSD endemic countries, including long-distance airborne movement of infected vectors such as stable flies and cattle movement between countries over land borders. Key risk factors for LSDV spread in LSD endemic countries include physical environmental characteristics, weather conditions, and population distributions of livestock and vectors. Our results indicate that while a variety of modelling studies have been conducted, the majority of studies experimentally explored LSD transmission mechanisms in vectors and cattle. Spatial and spatio-temporal models have primarily been developed for LSD endemic countries and focus on the spread of the disease in terms of environmental factors in relation to previous LSD events. There were very few studies on LSD-free countries, and these only focussed on risk of LSD introduction through specific entry pathways. This review did not identify any literature exploring the risk of spread of LSDV following introduction in LSD-free countries or geospatial modelling of the suitability of LSD-free countries for LSDV incursions. In conjunction with the risk parameters and models described in the identified literature, there is need to consider a wide range of risk factors specific to Australia to inform the design of risk-based surveillance for LSD in Australia

Internal alignments of red versus blue discs in dark matter haloes

Large surveys have shown that red galaxies are preferentially aligned with their haloes, while blue galaxies have a more isotropic distribution. Since haloes generally align with their filaments, this introduces a bias in the measurement of the cosmic shear from weak lensing. It is therefore vitally important to understand why this difference arises. We explore the stability of different disc orientations within triaxial haloes. We show that, in the absence of gas, the disc orientation is most stable when its spin is along the minor axis of the halo. Instead when gas cools on to a disc, it is able to form in almost arbitrary orientation, including off the main planes of the halo (but avoiding an orientation perpendicular to the halo's intermediate axis). Substructure helps gasless galaxies reach alignment with the halo faster, but has less effect on galaxies when gas is cooling on to the disc. Our results provide a novel and natural interpretation for why red, gas poor galaxies are preferentially aligned with their halo, while blue, star-forming, galaxies have nearly random orientations, without requiring a connection between galaxies' current star formation rate and their merger history

Ways Ahead: developing a supported self-management programme for people living with low- and intermediate-grade gliomas - a protocol for a multi-method study

INTRODUCTION: Living with and beyond a diagnosis of a low- and intermediate-grade glioma (LIGG) can adversely impact many aspects of people's lives and their quality of life (QoL). In people with chronic conditions, self-management can improve QoL. This is especially true if people are supported to self-manage. Supported self-management programmes have been developed for several cancers, but the unique challenges experienced by LIGG survivors mean these programmes may not be readily transferable to this group. The Ways Ahead study aims to address this gap by exploring the needs of LIGG survivors to develop a prototype for a supported self-management programme tailored to this group. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Ways Ahead will follow three sequential phases, underpinned by a systematic review of self-management interventions in cancer. In phase 1, qualitative methods will be used to explore and understand the issues faced by LIGG survivors, as well as the barriers and facilitators to self-management. Three sets of interviews will be conducted with LIGG survivors, their informal carers and professionals. Thematic analysis will be conducted with reference to the Theoretical Domains Framework and Normalisation Process Theory. Phase 2 will involve co-production workshops to generate ideas for the design of a supported self-management programme. Workshop outputs will be translated into a design specification for a prototype programme. Finally, phase 3 will involve a health economic assessment to examine the feasibility and benefits of incorporating the proposed programme into the current survivorship care pathway. This prototype will then be ready for testing in a subsequent trial. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has been reviewed and approved by an National Health Service Research Ethics Committee (REC ref: 20/WA/0118). The findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations, broadcast media, the study website, The Brain Tumour Charity and stakeholder engagement activities

A política de execução penal em tempos neoliberais: o percurso do Serviço Social no sistema prisional do estado do Rio de Janeiro

Apresenta reflexões levantadas a partir de participação como estagiários de Serviço Social na Secretaria do Estado de Administração Penitenciária do Rio de Janeiro (SEAP-RJ), no período do ano de 2012 ao ano de 2014. A pesquisa desenvolvida tem como objetivo compreender o processo de inserção dos assistentes sociais neste espaço e como as consequências da expansão da ofensiva neoliberal no Brasil rebatem sobre a profissão, em um contexto de “Estado Penal” em detrimento de um “Estado Social”. Concluímos que o exercício profissional, sendo uma profissão assalariada, inserida em um contexto de precarização das relações de trabalho, convive com o constante crescimento do contingente de população carcerária - público usuário do Serviço Social - paralelo à estagnação do contingente de profissionais neste espaço e o déficit de recursos

Using a Humanoid Robot to Elicit Body Awareness and Appropriate Physical Interaction in Children with Autism

In this article we describe a human–robot interaction study, focusing on tactile aspects of interaction, in which children with autism interacted with the child-like humanoid robot KASPAR. KASPAR was equipped with touch sensors in order to be able to distinguish gentle from harsh touch, and to respond accordingly. The study investigated a novel scenario for robot-assisted play, with the goal to increase body awareness of children with autism spectrum condition (hereafter ASC) by teaching them how to identify human body parts, and to promote a triadic relationship between the child, the robot and the experimenter. Data obtained from the video analysis of the experimental sessions showed that children treated KASPAR as an object of shared attention with the experimenter, and performed more gentle touches on the robot along the sessions. The children also learned to identify body parts. The study showed the potential that teaching children with autism about body parts and appropriate physical interaction using a humanoid robot has, and highlighted the issues of scenario development, data collection and data analysis that will inform future studies.Peer reviewe