Eastern filbert blight resistant identified from 20 years of germplasm introduction and evaluation at Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA.

The stem canker disease eastern filbert blight (EFB), caused by , is a major impediment of European hazelnut () production in the United States. While most European hazelnut cultivars are highly susceptible to the pathogen, which remains confined to North America, EFB resistant and tolerant genotypes occur in the gene pool at low frequency. At Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA, 5,226 trees were grown from open pollinated seeds collected from Russia, Crimea, Poland, Turkey, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Italy, and the Republic of Georgia between 2002 to 2010.

Hearing aid verification: Practices and perceptions of South African audiologists.

Background:  Hearing aid verification is required to objectively measure hearing aid outputs by ensuring that the amplified speech spectrum closely approximates the prescription goals.

Objectives:  This study aimed to determine audiologists' perceptions and practices regarding hearing aid verification and identify facilitators and barriers to its use.

Method:  A cross-sectional national e-survey included questions related to demographics, perceptions of verification, verification practices and two open-ended questions regarding the facilitators and barriers to conducting hearing aid verification in South Africa.

Inflammation biomarkers and neurobehavioral performance in rural adolescents.

Background: Systemic inflammation has been associated with lower neurobehavioral performance in diverse populations, yet the evidence in adolescents remains lacking. Cytokines can alter neural network activity to induce neurocognitive changes. This work seeks to investigate the association between inflammation and neurobehavior in adolescents living in a rural region of Ecuador.

Desert Bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Thaumastellidae): New records and review of the distribution and habitat of this relict group.

The known distribution and habitat information of the three described species of the genus Thaumastella Horváth, 1896 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomomorpha: Pentatomoidea: Thaumastellidae) are reviewed. In addition a fourth, undescribed species is reported from South Africa (Western Cape). Thaumastella aradoides Horváth, 1896, is recorded for the first time from Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and the states of Khartoum and Sennar in Sudan.