Revalidation of Synonymy between and (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae).

Background: We analyzed the external morphology and the external male genitalia of specimens of of a laboratory colony founded with specimens from Guanahacabiles in Pinar del Río Province in the west of Cuba in 1980. This species was at first identified as different from and then later considered synonymous.

Methods: We proposed to revise the morphological characters with which these species were considered as different and then later synonymous, such as the or spongy grooves, length of the first antenna segment, relationship length of eye to interocular distance, the form of the phallosome, phallosome support, and the endosome processes.

The beauty of sensory ecology.

Sensory ecology is a discipline that focuses on how living creatures use information to survive, but not to live. By trans-defining the orthodox concept of sensory ecology, a serious heterodox question arises: how do organisms use their senses to live, i.e.

[Description of external cuticular setae of head, thorax, legs, abdomen and genitalia of four Triatominae species].

The classification of the cuticular extensions of insects has been proposed as a taxonomic tool; however, the internal and external processes of the cuticular extensions of the Triatominae subfamily have not been fully analyzed and categorized. Objective: To describe the setae from different regions of the outer cuticle of several triatomine species by scanning electron microscopy. Materials and methods: Triatomines were washed and dried, after which different regions of the body from Eratyrus mucronatus, Triatoma maculata, Panstrongylus geniculatus and Belminus ferroae specimens were dissected, mounted on graphite double-sided adhesive tape over metal supports, metalized with gold and micrographed for further analysis.

[Entomological study of Trypanosoma cruzi vectors in the rural communities of Sucre state, Venezuela].

Introduction: The ecological niche of Reduvidae vectors has been modified due to environmental changes and human encroachment into the rural areas.

Objective: This study evaluates the current entomological indices of triatomines responsible for Trypanosoma cruzi infection in Sucre State, Venezuela.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional and prospective study was conducted in 95 towns and 577 dwellings in the 15 municipalities of the state of Sucre, Venezuela, from August to November, 2008.

Teaching evolution to psychiatrists in Venezuela: comparison with medical students and other medical specialists: a pilot study.

Introduction: The teaching of Evolution Theory (ET) in medical programs has received scant attention in the literature. In this report, we first describe the main applications of ET in medicine. Second, we present the evaluation of an interactive seminar on ET given to groups of medical students, psychiatrists, and other medical specialists.

[Morphometric analysis of Panstrongylus geniculatus (Heteroptera: Reduviidae) from Caracas City, Venezuela].

Introduction: In recent years, the assassin bug, Panstrongylus geniculatus, has been found infected with Trypanosoma cruzi in rural and urban areas of Caracas, Venezuela. Although historically this insect has been considered a forest species, it has become adapted to more urban artificial environments.

Objective: The presence of sexual dimorphism was determined as an indicator of adaptation to domiciles.

[Seroprevalence for Trypanosoma cruzi infection and associated factors in an endemic area of Venezuela].

This study investigated risk factors associated with positive serological status for Trypanosoma cruzi antibodies in 26 rural communities including 905 households, 2,156 humans, and 333 dogs in Lara State, Venezuela. Serology was performed with ELISA and MABA. Data were obtained from entomological, demographic, and clinical surveys.

Description of the cave organ in three species of the genus Belminus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) by optical and scanning electron microscopy.

The cave organ is a sensory receptor in the antenna pedicel of some Reduviidae. This paper describes this organ for the first time in three species of the genus Belminus, Belminus corredori, Belminus ferroae and Belminus herreri, by optical and scanning electron microscopy. The structures presented a general pattern similar to one reported for other species of Triatominae.

[Viability and spatial structuring in a Triatoma maculata (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) laboratory colony fed with human blood].

Introduction: Immature and adult forms of Triatoma maculata have been captured repeatedly in and around the homes in the town of Xaguas, Venezuela. Because of its potential as a Chagas disease vector, a study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of human blood feeding on the viability and spatial structuring of a laboratory colony of this species.

Objective: The effect of human blood feeding was determined for the viability of a T.

[An entomological and seroepidemiological study of Chagas' disease in an area in central-western Venezuela infested with Triatoma maculata (Erichson 1848)].

This article presents a study on seroepidemiological, entomologic, and risk factors for domiciliary infestation in a circumscribed area infested with Triatoma maculata in Parroquia Xaguas, Urdaneta Municipality, Lara State, Venezuela. One hundred and forty households, 509 persons, and 110 dogs were sampled. Serum anti-Trypanosoma cruzi antibodies were determined by means of ELISA and MABA techniques using recombinant antigens.

Characteristics of plasminogen binding to Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes.

The binding constants of the interaction between plasminogen and Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes were determined. An indirect method in which the bound plasminogen is detached from the cell by epsilon-aminocaproic acid and a direct method through biotinylated plasminogen were used. The analyses revealed a dissociation constant (Kd) from 0.

Evolution theory: an overview of its applications in psychiatry.

Objectives: (1) Describe the concept, mechanisms and outcome of evolution; (2) review the current topics in research and clinical psychiatry where evolutionary concepts are explicitly applied.

Methods: The authors reviewed relevant textbooks of evolution, evolutionary psychiatry/psychology and articles in scientific journals, and discussed these topics in a college course at McGill University School of Medicine, Montreal, Canada.

Results: (1) Most natural scientists agree that evolution has occurred in all living beings.

Psychology of learning: a new approach to study behavior of Rhodnius prolixus stal under laboratory conditions.

Conditioning methodologies associated with the psychology of learning are suggested as a new strategy to investigate behavior of the assassin bug Rhodnius prolixus, which is the main vector of Chagas disease in Venezuela. Chagas disease is the fourth leading cause of death in Latin America, as it causes severe chronic illness and approximately 43,000 deaths per year. To illustrate this strategy, two preliminary experiments are reported.

A new apparatus to study behavior of triatomines under laboratory conditions.

A new apparatus is described to study a wide range of behavior in the vectors of Chagas's disease. The device is relatively inexpensive and easy to construct. A wide range of independent variables can be studied, including potential attractants, repellents, blood, and blood products under controlled conditions.

[Mortality profile of female Rhodnius robustus (Heteroptera: Reduviidae)].

Mortality profile of 48 adult females of Rhodnius robustus shows that data analyzed by weeks and days have a statistical significantly fit (p<0.0001), that allows to affirm that mortality of this species is Gompertzian.