One more new species of the genus \u3cem\u3eOrthochirus\u3c/em\u3e Karsch, 1891 from Africa (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

Following the recent considerations proposed on the African species of the genus Orthochirus Karsch, 1891, one new species is described from the south of Morocco. The total number of African species is now raised to six

Further considerations on the species of the genus \u3cem\u3eOrthochirus\u3c/em\u3e Karsch, 1891 from Africa, with description of three new species (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

New considerations are proposed regarding the African species of the genus Orthochirus Karsch, 1891. Two species, Orthochirus aristidis (Simon, 1882) and Orthochirus innesi Simon, 1910 have been the subject of several publications in the past decades; however, doubts remain about their exact identity and range of geographical distribution. In this note, their taxonomic status is reinvestigated. The type material is revised and the lectotype and paralectotypes are designated for O. aristidis. Revised diagnoses and illustrations are proposed for both species, and these are confirmed as valid. Three new species are described from Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania. The total number of African species is raised to five

The true identity of \u3cem\u3eScorpio\u3c/em\u3e (\u3cem\u3eAtreus\u3c/em\u3e) \u3cem\u3eobscurus\u3c/em\u3e Gervais, 1843 (Scorpiones, Buthidae)

The true identity of the scorpion Scorpio (Atreus) obscurus Gervais, 1843 is discussed based on new data. The original type material was recently discovered in the collections of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris, which confirms that this old species, originally described by Gervais based on two female specimens from French Guiana, does indeed belong to the genus Tityus C. L. Koch, 1836. Furthermore, an analysis of all morphological characteristics of Tityus (Atreus) obscurus verifies its position as a senior synonym of both Tityus paraensis Kraepelin, 1896 and Tityus cambridgei Pocock, 1897. In this paper, we designate the two female syntypes of Scorpio (Atreus) obscurus as a female lectotype and a female paralectotype for Tityus (Atreus) obscurus (Gervais, 1843), and synonymize Tityus paraensis Kraepelin, 1896 with Tityus obscurus (Gervais, 1843)

A new species of the genus \u3cem\u3eButhus\u3c/em\u3e (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from northern Cameroon

A new species belonging to the genus Buthus Leach (Scorpiones: Buthidae) is described from northern Cameroon in Central Western Africa. The new species can be included in the “Buthus occitanus” complex of species, and probably can be associated with the “Buthus occitanus” from the former French West Africa (AOF) previously reported by Vachon from this large region. This is the first record of a Buthus species from Cameroon, and with the description of Buthus prudenti sp. n., the status of one more population of Buthus spp. from the sub-Saharan region of Africa is clarified

Testing times for dementia: a community survey identifying contemporary barriers to risk reduction and screening

Background: Advances in pharmacological and non-pharmacological dementia interventions may mean future dementia prevention incorporates a combination of targeted screening and lifestyle modifications. Elucidating potential barriers which may prevent community engagement with dementia prevention initiatives is important to maximise the accessibility and feasibility of these initiatives across the lifespan. Methods: Six hundred seven adults aged over 18 years completed a 54-item, multiple-choice survey exploring contemporary attitudes towards, and barriers to, dementia risk reduction and screening relative to other common health conditions. Participants were sourced from Australia’s largest, paid, data analytics service (ORIMA). Results: Finances (p =.009), poor motivation (p =.043), and time (p ≤.0001) emerged as significant perceived barriers to dementia risk reduction behaviours. Lack of time was more likely to be reported by younger, relative to older, participants (p ≤.0001), while females were more likely than males to report financial (p =.019) and motivational (p =.043) factors. Binary logistic regression revealed willingness to undertake dementia testing modalities was significantly influenced by gender (genetic testing, p =.012; saliva, p =.038, modifiable risk factors p =.003), age (cognitive testing, p ≤.0001; blood, p =.010), and socio-economic group (retinal imaging, p =.042; modifiable risk-factor screening, p =.019). Over 65% of respondents felt adequately informed about risk reduction for at least one non-dementia health condition, compared to 30.5% for dementia. Conclusions: This study found perceived barriers to dementia risk reduction behaviours, and the willingness to engage in various dementia testing modalities, was significantly associated with socio-demographic factors across the lifespan. These findings provide valuable insight regarding the accessibility and feasibility of potential methods for identifying those most at risk of developing dementia, as well as the need to better promote and support wide-scale engagement in dementia risk reduction behaviours across the lifespan

The genus \u3cem\u3eChaerilus\u3c/em\u3e Simon, 1877 (Scorpiones, Chaerilidae) in the Indian Ocean Islands and description of a new species

A new species is described belonging to the genus Chaerilus Simon, 1877. Chaerilus andamanensis sp. n. was discovered in the Island of Little Andaman in the Indian Ocean. The new species shows affinities with Chaerilus variegatus Simon, 1877 and Chaerilus borneensis Simon, 1880, respectively described from Java and Borneo. This s the first record of the genus Chaerilus in the Andaman Islands

A new species of \u3cem\u3eAndroctonus\u3c/em\u3e Ehrenberg, 1828 from Morocco (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

A new species of scorpion belonging to the genus Androctonus Ehrenberg, 1828 (family Buthidae C. L. Koch, 1837), is described on the basis of one male and one female specimens collected at Sidi Smaïl in the Atlantic Coast of Morocco. With the description of Androctonus maroccanus sp. n., the total number of Androctonus species known to Morocco is raised to seven

Driving sandpiles to criticality and beyond

A popular theory of self-organized criticality relates driven dissipative systems to systems with conservation. This theory predicts that the stationary density of the abelian sandpile model equals the threshold density of the fixed-energy sandpile. We refute this prediction for a wide variety of underlying graphs, including the square grid. Driven dissipative sandpiles continue to evolve even after reaching criticality. This result casts doubt on the validity of using fixed-energy sandpiles to explore the critical behavior of the abelian sandpile model at stationarity.Comment: v4 adds referenc

Effect of Sleep on the Attentiveness of Elementary School Students

Sleep is known to be important in the development of children and their cognitive functioning. This study worked to establish correlation between amount of sleep and attentiveness in schoolaged children. This study surveyed the parents of 10 third graders on their child’s sleep habits. The children were read a story in class and asked to answer questions based on details in the story. The data obtained from this quiz and the parent’s survey responses were then compared to see if there was a relation. The results of this study were inconclusive. When genders were separated, it was found that males slept the most but females got more answers correct on the quiz. However, when the data was organized based on the recommended sleep amount for this age, it was found that children who met the recommendation answered more questions correctly compared to those who did not