Publications by authors named "Jose Verdu"

Physiological traits in insects are useful to understand their distribution at different spatial scales, their presence and abundance, and the use of different habitats. This study explored physiological parameters of dung beetles in two contrasting ecoregions of Argentina: Paranaense Forest and Dry Chaco. We capture dung beetles from both regions and habitats with different degrees of disturbance within each region, and performed lab experiments on metabolic rate and thermal tolerance.

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The study of cold tolerance is imperative for understanding insect activity across spatial and temporal gradients. Here, we assessed various physiological variables to discern the response to cold stress in Mediterranean earth-boring dung beetles, utilizing an infrared thermography protocol initially developed for detecting heat stress variables. Subsequently, we conducted a joint analysis of heat and cold stress variables to explore the extent of congruence between their responses.

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The sustainability of the traditional extensive livestock sector will only be possible if healthy dung-decomposing insect communities are preserved. However, many current pharmaceutical anthelmintics are harmful to dung beetles, their presence can have a negative impact on biological systems. Phytochemical anthelmintics are an alternative to ecotoxic synthetic pharmaceutical anthelmintics, although ecotoxicological tests of their possible indirect effects on dung beetles are required to demonstrate their viability.

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The detection of dung odors is a crucial step in the food-searching behavior of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea). Yet, whether certain compounds characteristic of a given dung type contribute to a 'choosy generalism' behavior proposed for this taxonomic group is unknown. To address this, we analyzed the chemical composition of three types of dung (cow, horse, and rabbit) and conducted behavioral and electroantennogram (EAG) bioassays on 15 species of dung beetles using 19 volatile organic compounds representing the three dung samples.

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We described, for the first time, a case of predation of a non-arthropod species by a dung beetle species. Canthon chalybaeus Blanchard, 1843 kills healthy individuals of the terrestrial snail Bulimulus apodemetes (D'Orbigny, 1835) showing an evident pattern of physical aggressiveness in the attacks using the dentate clypeus and the anterior tibiae. The description of this predatory behaviour was complemented with the analysis of the chemical secretions of the pygidial glands of C.

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Dung beetles use excrement for feeding and reproductive purposes. Although they use a range of dung types, there have been several reports of dung beetles showing a preference for certain feces. However, exactly what determines dung preference in dung beetles remains controversial.

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The South American Pleistocene-Holocene transition has been characterized by drastic climatic and diversity changes. These rapid changes induced one of the largest and most recent extinctions in the megafauna at the continental scale. However, examples of the extinction of small animals (e.

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Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of lower limb chronic venous disease (CVD) diagnoses entered in a large electronic health record database in primary care in Catalonia, Spain; to investigate the reliability of these data for research purposes; and to estimate the prevalence and incidence of CVD, chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), and venous leg ulcer (VLU).

Design: Real-world data analysis based on a large electronic health record database in primary care in Catalonia, Spain.

Methods: We used a primary care research database (Information System for the Development of Research in Primary Care [SIDIAP]), which contains anonymous data on some 5.

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We present a planar, scalable magnetic field source, originally conceived for a chip ion trap. It consists of two symmetric sections, each with several independent currents arranged in coplanar, concentric rectangular loops. The currents allow for tuning the strength of the field and its lowest-order derivatives at one discretional position along the source's vertical symmetry axis, a few mm above its surface.

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In terrestrial ecosystems, insects face a wide range of temperatures among habitats and time; consequently, the thermal niche is one of the main determinants of habitat selection and temporal patterns of activity. The replacement of native forests changes micro-climatic conditions and reduces the diversity of dung beetles; however, the physiological mechanisms behind these changes are not clear. We explore the role of the thermal niche in dung beetles to explain the ability of native species to exploit human-created habitats.

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Background: Lung ultrasound (LUS) is useful for diagnosing pulmonary congestion, but its value in primary care remains unclear. We investigated whether LUS improved diagnostic accuracy in outpatients with heart failure (HF) suspicion.

Methods And Results: LUS was performed on 2 anterior (A), 2 lateral (L), and 2 posterior (P) areas per hemithorax.

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A terrestrial test system to investigate the biomagnification potential and tissue-specific distribution of ivermectin, a widely used parasiticide, in the non-target dung beetle Thorectes lusitanicus (Jekel) was developed and validated. Biomagnification kinetics of ivermectin in T. lusitanicus was investigated by following uptake, elimination, and distribution of the compound in dung beetles feeding on contaminated faeces.

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In heterotherm insects, endothermy implies a high energy cost due to the generation and regulation of body temperature during different activities such as flight, food location, fighting and even walking. We studied the thermoregulation process and the cost of the thermoregulation strategies in two sympatric dung beetles, Sulcophanaeus batesi and S. imperator under heat and cold stress conditions.

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Background: To understand user needs, system requirements and organizational conditions towards successful design and adoption of Clinical Decision Support Systems for Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) care built on top of computerized risk models.

Methods: The holistic and evidence-based CEHRES Roadmap, used to create eHealth solutions through participatory development approach, persuasive design techniques and business modelling, was adopted in the MOSAIC project to define the sequence of multidisciplinary methods organized in three phases, user needs, implementation and evaluation. The research was qualitative, the total number of participants was ninety, about five-seventeen involved in each round of experiment.

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Among macrocyclic lactones (ML), ivermectin (IVM) and moxidectin (MOX) potentially affect all Ecdysozoan species, with dung beetles being particularly sensitive. The comparative effects of IVM and MOX on adult dung beetles were assessed for the first time to determine both the physiological sub-lethal symptoms and pre-lethal consequences. Inhibition of antennal response and ataxia were tested as two intuitive and ecologically relevant parameters by obtaining the lowest observed effect concentration (LOEC) values and interpolating other relevant toxicity thresholds derived from concentration-response curves (IC, as the concentration of each ML where the antennal response is inhibited by half; and pLC, as the quantity of ingested ML where partial paralysis was observed by half of treated individuals) from concentration-response curves.

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Background: The efficacy of telemedicine in the management of patients with chronic heart failure and left ventricular ejection fraction ≥40% is poorly understood. The aim of our analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of a telemedicine-based intervention specifically in these patients, as compared to standard of care alone.

Methods: The Insuficiència Cardiaca Optimització Remota (iCOR) study was a single centre, randomised, controlled trial, designed to evaluate a telemedicine intervention added to an existing hospital/primary care multidisciplinary, integrated programme for chronic heart failure patients.

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Objective: Various studies have suggested that a delay in the time between diagnosing hypertension and its correct control (D-C, diagnostic-control time) is linked to a worse prognosis. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between D-C time and all-cause mortality, or the incidence of cardiovascular events, in patients more than 60 years newly diagnosed with hypertension.

Methods: This is a longitudinal, retrospective, population study employing data gathered from the electronic medical records of patients recently diagnosed with hypertension in 45 primary healthcare centres located in Barcelona (Catalonia).

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Epidemiological studies on pressure ulcers (PUs) in hospitalised infants are scarce. Spain lacks comprehensive research studies providing data on the prevalence or incidence in this population. This work was developed to determine the incidence of PUs in hospitalised infants admitted to intensive and intermediate care units, along with relevant risk factors and preventive measures.

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Insects can use thermoregulation to keep their body temperatures within a certain range in response to thermal stress situations. The mechanisms to regulate internal temperature depend on whether species are endothermic or ectothermic species, i.e.

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Aim: To adapt the Neonatal Skin Risk Assessment Scale to the Spanish context and to test its validity and reliability.

Background: Currently, in Spain there are no validated scales to evaluate the risk of pressure ulcers in infants.

Method: The research was performed in 10 neonatal units.

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We describe an exceptional case of erythroid sarcoma in a pediatric patient as a growing orbital mass with no evidence of morphologic bone marrow involvement, who was finally diagnosed of pure erythroid sarcoma based on histopathology and flow cytometry criteria. We discuss the contribution of standardized eight-color flow cytometry as a rapid and reliable diagnostic method. The use of normal bone marrow databases allowed us to identify small aberrant populations in bone marrow and later confirm the diagnosis in the neoplastic tissue.

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Ivermectin is the most common endectocide used to control parasites affecting livestock. Short-term physiological and behavioural effects of ivermectin on dung beetles may have long-term consequences for beetle populations and ecosystem functioning. Long-term effects of the use of ivermectin can be estimated by comparing dung assemblages and ecosystem functions in areas with conventional ivermectin-treated livestock and environmentally similar areas in which livestock are not treated with veterinary medical products (organic farming).

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A new analytical method based on solvent extraction, followed by continuous solid-phase extraction (SPE) clean-up using a polymeric sorbent, was demonstrated to be applicable for the detection of ivermectin in complex biological matrices of dung beetles (hemolymph, excreta or dry tissues) using liquid chromatography combined with positive electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI+-MS/MS). Using a signal-to-noise ratio of 3:1, the limit of detection (LOD) in the insect matrices at trace levels was 0.01 ng g-1 and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.

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The beetle Omorgus suberosus (F.) is a facultative predator of eggs of the olive ridley turtle Lepidochelys olivacea (Eschscholtz). Laboratory and field investigations were conducted in order to characterize volatile attractants of O.

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