Four new species of Acoma Casey, with a key to species in the genus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae)

Acoma howdenorum, Acoma westcotti, Acoma quadrilaminata, and Acoma cimarron (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae), all new species, are described from Yuma County, Arizona, USA, and Baja California Sur, Baja California (Norte), and Sonora, Mexico, respectively. Habitus of the four new species is illustrated, and an updated key to the described species in the genus is provided. Distribution and variation of Acoma glabrata Cazier are also discussed

A revision of the genus Gymnetina Casey, 1915 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Gymnetini)

The genus Gymnetina Casey (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae: Gymnetini) is redescribed and revised. Three new species and one new subspecies are described: G. borealis Warner and Ratcliffe, G. grossepunctata Ratcliffe and Warner, G. howdeni Warner and Ratcliffe, and G. cretacea sundbergi Warner and Ratcliffe. Gymnetina salicis (Bates), new status, is removed from synonymy with G. cretacea (LeConte), and G. alboscripta (Janson) is transferred from Gymnetis MacLeay to Gymnetina becoming Gymnetina alboscripta (Janson), new combination. Redescriptions of previously known species, a key for identification, and illustrations of the six species are provided. A brief biogeographical analysis suggests that ancestral taxa dispersed northwards from Guatemala and Mexico to the southwestern United States

The Neonatal Microbiome and Necrotizing Enterocolitis.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating disorder that affects approximately 10% of premature infants. Its mortality remains high (15-30%), and its cause remains unknown. About 80% of cases occur within 35 days of birth among hospitalized newborns of low birth weight. Probiotics diminish the incidence and severity of NEC, and NEC does not occur antepartum. NEC affects a readily identifiable at-risk group, has a tightly defined interval before its onset, occurs in an organ system that is intimately associated with a microbial population in flux, has a plausible association with the intestinal microbiota, and cohorts at risk have rarely been studied in large numbers, or prospectively. This disorder, therefore, provides a unique opportunity to explore the role of the human enteric microbiome in a devastating disease. Moreover, NEC epidemiology and age-incidence present an ability to enroll and study cohorts that are highly likely to provide valuable pathophysiologic and microbiologic insights.

In this project, we will identify and quantify the microbial components of stool and its products before and at the onset of NEC. In doing so, we will test the overarching hypothesis that NEC is a direct or indirect consequence of the enteric biomass, its products, or both. We will use multicenter cohorts of premature infants at high risk of developing NEC, extend our research on this disease currently sponsored by the Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences, and continue our longstanding collaborations with the Genome Center at Washington University and the Washington University Digestive Diseases Research Core Center (Informatics Core). The Aims of this proposal are to (1) conduct a case cohort study in which we compare clinical data and biological specimens from cases and well-matched controls; (2) determine if the kind and density of intestinal biomass, its gene content, and transcriptional activity are associated with, and potential determinants of, NEC; and (3) determine if host risk alleles for intestinal inflammation play a role in the development of NEC. These efforts will be accomplished using subjects from three collaborating neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), focusing on the critical, instructive, and understudied pre-NEC stage of illness, and formulating a data repository that will be a resource for investigators worldwide who wish to focus their efforts on NEC, its precipitants, and its prevention and cure.
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Four new species of \u3ci\u3eAcoma\u3c/i\u3e Casey, with a key to species in the genus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae)

Acoma howdenorum, Acoma westcotti, Acoma quadrilaminata, and Acoma cimarron (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae), all new species, are described from Yuma County, Arizona, USA, and Baja California Sur, Baja California (Norte), and Sonora, Mexico, respectively. Habitus of the four new species is illustrated, and an updated key to the described species in the genus is provided. Distribution and variation of Acoma glabrata Cazier are also discussed

A new \u3ci\u3ePhyllophaga\u3c/i\u3e (\u3ci\u3eListrochelus\u3e/i\u3e) timida group species from Baja California Sur (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae)

Phyllophaga (Listrochelus) baja, new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae), is de­scribed and illustrated. Its relationship to other species in the “timida group” is discussed. Morón (2002) reviewed the Phyllophaga Harris (Listrochelus Blanchard) species near P. timida (Horn) and included a key to the eight known species of the “timida group.” Many species in this group are difficult to dis­tinguish from one another via external characters; however, the male genital shape is diagnostic for each. Here I describe a new species from Baja California Sur, Mexico, that falls within that group

Two new scarab beetles from the southwestern USA (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae and Aphodiinae)

Phyllophaga (Listrochelus) benwarneri new species and Cinacanthus cunninghami new species (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) are described from dune systems in northern Arizona and extreme southern Nevada, USA. Habitus and diagnostic characters of these species are illustrated, and couplets from the respective, most recent (sub)generic keys are modified to incorporate the new species. Available habits and habitat information for each species, and a discussion of the Phyllophaga “senex complex” of species are provided. This work describes two new scarab beetles from the Southwestern USA, which are apparently restricted to dune systems in northern Arizona to extreme southern Nevada: one, an arenophilic Cinacanthus Schmidt species from dunes near the town of Moenkopi, Arizona, and the other, a flightless Phyllophaga Harris (Listrochelus Blanchard) “senex complex” species from unconsolidated dunes next to the town of Beaverdam, Arizona, and nearby dunes in Nevada. Both localities are known for having several precinctive species, including other flightless Scarabaeidae

Review of The Scarab Beetles of Nebraska by Brett C. Ratcliffe

Of the few regional faunal surveys of Scarabaeidae available, The Scarab Beetles of Nebraska provides by far the most comprehensive treatise to date of any area in the Western Hemisphere. It not only serves as a manual for identification of all adult Nebraskan Scarabaeidae, but also includes available information on larvae and natural history for each species as well. The book is lavishly illustrated with adult habitus drawings of most species, supplemented by line drawings of larval and adult key characters. Illustrator Mark Marcuson\u27s color plates are worthy of framing, and congratulations go to the printers for their reproduction of Marcuson\u27s exquisite illustration of a flying Euphoria fulgida (Fab.) on the front cover. The book begins with an overview of the geography, climate, and vegetative zones of Nebraska, complete with climatological and floral maps, and photographs of the major habitat types found in the state. This is followed by a brief review of Nebraskan biogeography and general scarab morphology, biology, and subfamilial taxonomy

Review of The Scarab Beetles of Nebraska by Brett C. Ratcliffe

Of the few regional faunal surveys of Scarabaeidae available, The Scarab Beetles of Nebraska provides by far the most comprehensive treatise to date of any area in the Western Hemisphere. It not only serves as a manual for identification of all adult Nebraskan Scarabaeidae, but also includes available information on larvae and natural history for each species as well. The book is lavishly illustrated with adult habitus drawings of most species, supplemented by line drawings of larval and adult key characters. Illustrator Mark Marcuson\u27s color plates are worthy of framing, and congratulations go to the printers for their reproduction of Marcuson\u27s exquisite illustration of a flying Euphoria fulgida (Fab.) on the front cover. The book begins with an overview of the geography, climate, and vegetative zones of Nebraska, complete with climatological and floral maps, and photographs of the major habitat types found in the state. This is followed by a brief review of Nebraskan biogeography and general scarab morphology, biology, and subfamilial taxonomy