The relative importance of host characteristics and co-infection in generating variation in Heligmosomoides polygyrus fecundity

We examined the relative importance of intrinsic host factors and microparasite co-infection in generating variation in Heligmosomoides polygyrus fecundity, a parameter that serves as a proxy for infectiousness. We undertook extensive trapping of Apodemus flavicollis, the yellow-necked mouse in the woodlands of the Italian Alps and recorded eggs in utero from the dominant nematode species H. polygyrus, and tested for the presence of five microparasite infections. The results showed that sex and breeding status interact, such that males in breeding condition harboured more fecund nematodes than other hosts; in particular, worms from breeding males had, on average, 52% more eggs in utero than worms from non-breeding males. In contrast, we found a weak relationship between intensity and body mass, and no relationship between intensity and sex or intensity and breeding condition. We did not find any evidence to support the hypothesis that co-infection with microparasites contributed to variation in worm fecundity in this system. The age-intensity profiles for mice singly-infected with H. polygyrus and those co-infected with the nematode and at least one microparasite were both convex and not statistically different from each other. We concluded that intrinsic differences between hosts, specifically with regard to sex and breeding condition, contribute relatively more to the variation in worm fecundity than parasite co-infection status

The tadpoles of five Megophrys Horned frogs (Amphibia: Megophryidae) from the Hoang Lien Range, Vietnam

Frogs in the genus Megophrys are an Asian radiation of stream-breeding frogs. The tadpoles of many Megophrys species are undescribed; those that are described are often dubiously allocated to species by association with post metamorphic specimens at collection sites and without supportive molecular data. We provide detailed descriptions of the larvae of five species of Megophrys from the Hoang Lien Range in northwest Vietnam: Megophrys fansipanensis, M. gigantica, M. hoanglienensis, M. jingdongensis and M. maosonensis. Tadpoles from different subgenera differ from each other via a combination of patternation in life, oral disc shape and tail morphology but given the small sample size, and limited number of species it is unlikely that these differences can be applied more widely to delineate subgenera. Morphological differences between tadpoles from species within the subgenus Panophrys were insufficient to clearly delineate all species. The ability to identify tadpoles is likely to advance our understanding of the frog fauna in mainland southeast Asia

A new co-learning method in spatial complex fuzzy inference systems for change detection from satellite images

The detection of spatial and temporal changes (or change detection) in remote sensing images is essential in any decision support system about natural phenomena such as extreme weather conditions, climate change, and floods. In this paper, a new method is proposed to determine the inference process parameters of boundary point, rule coefficient, defuzzification coefficient, and dependency coefficient and present a new FWADAM+ method to train that set of parameters simultaneously. The initial data are clustered simultaneously according to each data group. This result will be the basis for determining a suitable set of parameters by using the FWADAM+ concurrent training algorithm. Eventually, these results will be inherited in the following data groups to build other complex fuzzy rule systems in a shorter time while still ensuring the model’s efficiency. The weather imagery database of the United States Navy (US Navy) is used to evaluate and compare with some related methods using the root-mean-squared error (RMSE), R-squared (R2) measures, and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) model. The experimental results show that the proposed method is up to 30% better than the SeriesNet method, and the processing time is 10% less than that of the SeriesNet method. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature

A new potentially Endangered species of Megophrys from Mount Ky Quan San, northwest Vietnam

The genus Megophrys is known to harbour morphological cryptic species diversity. During field work on Vietnam’s third highest peak, Mount Ky Quan San, north-west Vietnam, we collected specimens of a new species of Megophrys at two locations more than 2000 m above sea level (asl). Phylogenetic analyses using mitochondrial markers place the new species within the subgenus Panophrys, a primarily Chinese radiation within the genus Megophrys. We describe the species based on an all-male type series and distinguish it from all other Megophrys species from mainland Southeast Asia, north of the Isthmus of Kra and nearby provinces of China (Yunnan, Guangxi and Guizhou) based on morphological, molecular and bioacoustic data. The new species is inferred to form a clade along with M. hoanglienensis and M. fansipanensis; it is syntopic with the former but has a non-overlapping range with the latter. Uncorrected p distances for the 16S rDNA and CO1 genes between the new species and closest relatives exceed values observed between other closely related species in the Panophrys subgenus. The new species is most similar to M. fansipanensis in terms of morphology, and several call parameters also overlap with this species; however, these two species call at different times of year. This is the fourth likely range-restricted and Endangered Megophrys species described from the Hoang Lien Range since 2017, and this discovery further highlights the significance of the Hoang Lien Range for Vietnam’s amphibian diversity

Safety and efficacy of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce ileus after colorectal surgery

Background: Ileus is common after elective colorectal surgery, and is associated with increased adverse events and prolonged hospital stay. The aim was to assess the role of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for reducing ileus after surgery. Methods: A prospective multicentre cohort study was delivered by an international, student- and trainee-led collaborative group. Adult patients undergoing elective colorectal resection between January and April 2018 were included. The primary outcome was time to gastrointestinal recovery, measured using a composite measure of bowel function and tolerance to oral intake. The impact of NSAIDs was explored using Cox regression analyses, including the results of a centre-specific survey of compliance to enhanced recovery principles. Secondary safety outcomes included anastomotic leak rate and acute kidney injury. Results: A total of 4164 patients were included, with a median age of 68 (i.q.r. 57\u201375) years (54\ub79 per cent men). Some 1153 (27\ub77 per cent) received NSAIDs on postoperative days 1\u20133, of whom 1061 (92\ub70 per cent) received non-selective cyclo-oxygenase inhibitors. After adjustment for baseline differences, the mean time to gastrointestinal recovery did not differ significantly between patients who received NSAIDs and those who did not (4\ub76 versus 4\ub78 days; hazard ratio 1\ub704, 95 per cent c.i. 0\ub796 to 1\ub712; P = 0\ub7360). There were no significant differences in anastomotic leak rate (5\ub74 versus 4\ub76 per cent; P = 0\ub7349) or acute kidney injury (14\ub73 versus 13\ub78 per cent; P = 0\ub7666) between the groups. Significantly fewer patients receiving NSAIDs required strong opioid analgesia (35\ub73 versus 56\ub77 per cent; P < 0\ub7001). Conclusion: NSAIDs did not reduce the time for gastrointestinal recovery after colorectal surgery, but they were safe and associated with reduced postoperative opioid requirement