Previous studies suggest that craniofacial manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) facilitates brain fluids clearance, reducing intracranial pressure and reabsorbing chronic subdural hematoma. This study aimed to explore the effect of craniofacial MLD in combination with pharmacological treatment for improving cranial pain intensity, vital signs, and cerebral edema (Hounsfield units, HUs) in moderate traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Patient 1 received pharmacological therapy, while patient 2 received both pharmacological and craniocervical MLD treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHypogeococcus pungens is a species complex native to southern South America that is composed of at least five putative species, each one specialized in the use of different host plants. Two of these undescribed species were registered as invasive in Central and North America: Hyp-C is a cactophagous mealybug that became an important pest that threatens endemic cactus species in Puerto Rico, and Hyp-AP feeds on Amaranthaceae and Portulacaceae hosts, but does not produce severe damage to the host plants. We quantified genomic variation and investigated the demographic history of both invasive species by means of coalescent-based simulations using high throughput sequencing data.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPredator/parasitoid functional response is one of the main tools used to study predation behavior, and in assessing the potential of biological control candidates. It is generally accepted that predator learning in prey searching and manipulation can produce the appearance of a type III functional response. Holling proposed that in the presence of alternative prey, at some point the predator would shift the preferred prey, leading to the appearance of a sigmoid function that characterized that functional response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhen two or more parasitoid species, particularly candidates for biocontrol, share the same target in the same temporal window, a complex of behaviors can occur among them. We studied the type of interactions (competition and intraguild predation) that existed between the nymphal parasitoids Anagyrus cachamai and A. lapachosus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), two candidate neoclassical biocontrol agents against the Puerto Rican cactus pest mealybug, Hypogeococcus sp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMosquito larvae live in water and perform a stereotyped escape response when a moving object projects its shadow on the water surface, indicating potential risk of predation. Repeated presentations of the shadow induce a decrease in the response as a result of habituation, a form of non-associative learning defined as the progressive and reversible decrease in response to a specific reiterative innocuous stimulus. Nevertheless, habituation can be context specific, which indicates an association between the context and the stimulus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCryptic taxa have often been observed in the form of host-associated species that diverged as the result of adaptation to alternate host plants. Untangling cryptic diversity in species complexes that encompass invasive species is a mandatory task for pest management. Moreover, investigating the evolutionary history of a species complex may help to understand the drivers of their diversification.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHypogeococcus pungens, a mealybug native of southern South America, is devastating native cacti in Puerto Rico and threatening cactus diversity in the Caribbean, and potentially in Central and North America. The taxonomic status of H. pungens is controversial since it has been reported feeding not only on Cactaceae but also on other plant families throughout its distribution range.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new species of Anagyrus Howard (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), A. lapachosus sp. n.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo new species of Anagyrus Howard (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) are described from Argentina, A. cachamai Triapitsyn, Logarzo & Aguirre sp. n.
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