Annotated catalogue of Pakistani Acrididae (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Acridoidea).

An annotated catalogue of Acrididae (Orthoptera: Caelifera) of Pakistan and its two adjacent territories is presented. A total of 169 species (including subspecies) belonged to 66 genera and 29 tribes with 14 subfamilies are reported from this region. Oedipodinae (56) was the most species-rich subfamily, followed by Gomphocerinae (30), Acridinae (15), Calliptaminae with (12), Eyprepocnemidinae (12) Oxyinae (9), Hemiacridinae (10), Cyrtacanthacridinae (8), Catantopinae (7), Tropidopolinae and Teratodinae each with (3), Spathosterninae (2) and Coptacrinae, and Melanoplinae are represented by a single species.

Studies in Mexican grasshoppers: four new species of the genus Oaxaca Fontana, Buzzetti & Mariño-Pérez, 2011 with the erection of the subgenus Paraoaxaca (Caelifera: Acrididae: Melanoplinae).

After a thoughtful review of 159 specimens collected from 17 localities from multiple collections in Mexico and the U.S.A.

Phylogenomics, male internal genitalia, a new species, and other notes on New World Stenopelmatus Jerusalem crickets (Orthoptera: Stenopelmatoidea: Stenopelmatini).

Based on past and expanded DNA sampling, the orthopteran families Stenopelmatidae and Anostostomatidae, as currently structured, are shown to be non-monophyletic. The splay-footed cricket genus Comicus is confirmed to be genetically distinct from all Stenopelmatidae. We add two specimens to our previously published phylogenetic tree for New World Stenopelmatus Jerusalem cricket species and report the first multilocus DNA recovery for S.

Annual temperature, body size, and sexual size dimorphism in the evolution of Pyrgomorphidae.

In many animal species, larger body size is positively correlated with male mating success and female fecundity. However, in the case of insects, in high seasonality environments, natural selection favors a faster maturation that decreases the risk of pre-reproductive death. However, this advantageous adaptation comes at a tradeoff, resulting in a reduction in body size.

Phylogeny and biogeography of the wingless orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae.

Cave crickets (Rhaphidophoridae) are insects of an ancient and wingless lineage within Orthoptera that are distributed worldwide except in Antarctica, and each subfamily has a high level of endemicity. Here, we show the comprehensive phylogeny of cave crickets using multi-gene datasets from mitochondrial and nuclear loci, including all extant subfamilies for the first time. We reveal phylogenetic relationships between subfamilies, including the sister relationship between Anoplophilinae and Gammarotettiginae, based on which we suggest new synapomorphies.

Surface modification of polypropylene hollow fiber membranes using fluorosilane for CO absorption in a gas-liquid membrane contactor.

Conventional methods for improving the hydrophobicity of polypropylene (PP) membranes to prevent wetting phenomena require complex pretreatment procedures in order to activate the surface for enabling the reaction with fluorosilane (FS)-based materials. This study successfully prepared PP membrane contactors with enhanced hydrophobicity through a simple single-step dip-coating method using perfluoroether-grafted silanes for CO capture. The FS coating layer on the PP membrane surface was confirmed through ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, XPS, FE-SEM, and EDS.

Differential responses to double-stranded RNA injection and feeding in Mormon cricket (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae).

The Mormon cricket, Anabrus simplex, is a flightless katydid, one of the major devastating rangeland pests in several states of the western United States. During the past few years, their sudden and periodic outbreaks into massive migratory bands caused significant economic losses to the rangeland forage and agricultural crops, particularly grain crops. Current population management methods rely heavily on broad-spectrum chemical insecticides, which could be toxic to nontargets, and even the targeted species might develop resistance in the long run.

Detection of Abnormal Changes on the Dorsal Tongue Surface Using Deep Learning.

: The tongue mucosa often changes due to various local and systemic diseases or conditions. This study aimed to investigate whether deep learning can help detect abnormal regions on the dorsal tongue surface in patients and healthy adults. : The study collected 175 clinical photographic images of the dorsal tongue surface, which were divided into 7782 cropped images classified into normal, abnormal, and non-tongue regions and trained using the VGG16 deep learning model.

Reversible sulfur dioxide capture by amino acids containing a single amino group at low sulfur dioxide concentrations.

SO, an air pollutant, is harmful to human health and causes air pollution; therefore, numerous studies have focused on the development of SO control technologies. Although limestone- and ammonia-based absorbents have been widely used in wet desulfurization, they are difficult to regenerate and do not enable the recycling of SO, which is a useful resource. Recently, amino acids have attracted attention as reversible SO absorbents because they are eco-friendly and have excellent reactivity with SO, as well as high regeneration performance.

The time course of behavioural phase change in the Central American locust Schistocerca piceifrons.

Locusts exhibit an extreme form of phenotypic plasticity and can exist as two alternative phenotypes, known as solitarious and gregarious phases. These phases, which can transform from one to another depending on local population density, show distinctly different behavioural characteristics. The proximate mechanisms of behavioural phase polyphenism have been well studied in the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria and the migratory locust Locusta migratoria, and what is known in these species is often treated as a general feature of locusts.

Controlled Drug Release Using Chitosan-Alginate-Gentamicin Multi-Component Beads.

This study aimed to develop improved multi-component beads with controlled, sustained delivery of antibiotics, such as gentamicin (GM). Antibiotic-loaded beads with rapid-release and the sustained-release system can be used for bone restoration. Single and multi-component beads were prepared by gelation using various combinations of chitosan and calcium chloride as cationic components and alginate and citric acid as anions.

Microstructure and Electrochemical Characterization of Ti-Sn Binary Alloys for Dental Applications.

This work investigated the microstructure and corrosion behaviors of Ti-Sn alloys with x wt% Sn (x = 5, 10, 15, and 20) for dental applications. The microstructures of commercially pure titanium (cp-Ti) and Ti-Sn alloys were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, optical microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The Vickers hardness of the Ti-Sn alloys was compared to that of cp-Ti.

Development of RNAi Methods for the Mormon Cricket, (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae).

Mormon crickets are a major rangeland pest in the western United States and are currently managed by targeted applications of non-specific chemical insecticides, which can potentially have negative effects on the environment. In this study, we took the first steps toward developing RNAi methods for Mormon crickets as a potential alternative to traditional broad-spectrum insecticides. To design an effective RNAi-based insecticide, we first generated a de novo transcriptome for the Mormon cricket and developed dsRNAs that could silence the expression of seven housekeeping genes.

Auditory mechanics in the grig (): tympanal travelling waves and frequency discrimination as a precursor to inner ear tonotopy.

Ensiferan orthopterans offer a key study system for acoustic communication and the process of insect hearing. (Hagloidea) belongs to a relict ensiferan family and is often used for evolutionary comparisons between bushcrickets (Tettigoniidae) and their ancestors. Understanding how this species processes sound is therefore vital to reconstructing the evolutionary history of ensiferan hearing.

Studies in Mexican Grasshoppers: Four new species of Reyesacris Fontana, Buzzetti amp; Mario-Prez, 2011 (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Ommatolampidinae).

Four new species of Reyesacris Fontana, Buzzetti Mario-Prez, 2011 are described from Southern Mexico (Guerrero and Oaxaca States). Reyesacris zihua sp. nov.

Taxonomic notes on the Australian skyhopper genus Kosciuscola Sjstedt (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Oxyinae).

The Australian skyhopper genus Kosciuscola Sjstedt consists of brachypterous species that inhabit the Australian alpine and subalpine region. The genus used to include 5 species and 1 subspecies, but according to a recent phylogenomic study, there could be as many as 14 species in the genus, that are genetically and geographically isolated from each other. This study represents the first step in describing and documenting the diversity of this interesting genus.

Albumin adsorption on microwave-treated titanium dioxide for dental implant materials.

Surface modification of biomedical implants is an established strategy to improve osseointegration. TiO nanoflowers (TNF) were deposited on a titanium substrate by hydrothermal technique followed by microwave radiation at 700 W for 5-15 min. Microwave-treated samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy to determine their physicochemical characteristics.

Motorized Treadmill and Optical Recording System for Gait Analysis of Grasshoppers.

(1) Background: Insects, which serve as model systems for many disciplines with their unique advantages, have not been extensively studied in gait research because of the lack of appropriate tools and insect models to properly study the insect gaits. (2) Methods: In this study, we present a gait analysis of grasshoppers with a closed-loop custom-designed motorized insect treadmill with an optical recording system for quantitative gait analysis. We used the eastern lubber grasshopper, a flightless and large-bodied species, as our insect model.

Molecular phylogeny of the grasshopper family Pyrgomorphidae (Caelifera, Orthoptera) reveals rampant paraphyly and convergence of traditionally used taxonomic characters.

The grasshopper family Pyrgomorphidae is one of the most colorful orthopteran lineages, and includes biologically fascinating and culturally important species. Recent attempts to reconstruct the phylogeny of this family have resulted in a large degree of conflicts between a morphology-based study and a molecular-based study, mainly due to convergent morphological traits that affected phylogenetic reconstruction. In this study, a molecular phylogeny of Pyrgomorphidae based on 32 ingroup species and mitochondrial genome data is proposed, which is used to test the monophyly of the taxonomic groupings used in the current classification scheme.

First draft genome assembly of the desert locust, .

: At the time of publication, the most devastating desert locust crisis in decades is affecting East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and South-West Asia. The situation is extremely alarming in East Africa, where Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia face an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods. Most of the time, however, locusts do not occur in swarms, but live as relatively harmless solitary insects.

Cytogenomic analysis unveils mixed molecular evolution and recurrent chromosomal rearrangements shaping the multigene families on Schistocerca grasshopper genomes.

Multigene families are essential components of eukaryotic genomes and play key roles either structurally and functionally. Their modes of evolution remain elusive even in the era of genomics, because multiple multigene family sequences coexist in genomes, particularly in large repetitive genomes. Here, we investigate how the multigene families 18S rDNA, U2 snDNA, and H3 histone evolved in 10 species of Schistocerca grasshoppers with very large and repeat-enriched genomes.