Discrimination of Diptera order insects based on their saturated cuticular hydrocarbon content using a new microextraction procedure and chromatographic analysis.

The nature and proportions of hydrocarbons in the cuticle of insects are characteristic of the species and age. Chemical analysis of cuticular hydrocarbons allows species discrimination, which is of great interest in the forensic field, where insects play a crucial role in estimating the minimum post-mortem interval. The objective of this work was the differentiation of Diptera order insects through their saturated cuticular hydrocarbon compositions (SCHCs).

The influence of altitude on the abundance and occurrence of species of the family Calliphoridae (Diptera) in corpses in a Mediterranean area.

A carcass is defined as a temporary resource that can support high levels of diversity compared to other resources. The level of diversity often depends on the environmental conditions in which the corpse is found. Calliphoridae (Diptera) are the most important necrophagous insects used in forensic investigations because this family is common, widespread, abundant, and usually the first to colonize a corpse.

Assessing wastewater-based epidemiology for the prediction of SARS-CoV-2 incidence in Catalonia.

While wastewater-based epidemiology has proven a useful tool for epidemiological surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic, few quantitative models comparing virus concentrations in wastewater samples and cumulative incidence have been established. In this work, a simple mathematical model relating virus concentration and cumulative incidence for full contagion waves was developed. The model was then used for short-term forecasting and compared to a local linear model.

Life Cycle and Biometric Study of (Wiedemann, 1818) (Diptera, Muscidae), a Species of Forensic Interest.

One of the most important and perhaps most used applications of forensic entomology concerns the estimation of the minimum post-mortem interval (minPMI), defined as the time interval between death and the actual finding of a corpse. Some Diptera species are critical in these studies because they are the first ones capable of detecting and finding a corpse and are selectively attracted by its decomposing status. Thus, the knowledge of the micromorphology of their preimaginal stages and of their life cycles within a time frame constitutes solid indicators for estimating the minPMI.

Removal of nitrate from groundwater by nano-scale zero-valent iron injection pulses in continuous-flow packed soil columns.

Injection of zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) into aquifers has gained increasing attention of researchers for in-situ treatment of NO-contaminated groundwater. nZVI has proved efficient in chemically reducing NO and, according to recent research efforts, in supporting biological denitrification under favoured conditions. Given the scarce research on nZVI pulsed injection in continuous-flow systems, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of nZVI pulses on the removal of NO from groundwater in packed soil columns and, more particularly, to elucidate whether or not biotic NO removal processes were promoted by nZVI.