Generalist Predators Shape Biotic Resistance along a Tropical Island Chain.

Islands offer exclusive prisms for an experimental investigation of biodiversity x ecosystem function interplay. Given that species in upper trophic layers, e.g.

On the Identity of the Mirine Plant Bug Capsus bimaculatus Fabricius (Hemiptera: Miridae): New Synonyms, and Lectotype Designation.

The identity of Capsus bimaculatus Fabricius, 1803 is revised, as well as the varieties described by Berg (1892): Cal. (Par.) bimaculatus typicus, Cal.

Outside the pattern: Evolution of the genital asymmetry in Saicinae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae).

Despite genital structures in insects being consistently important as systematic and taxonomy evidence, within assassin bugs (Heteroptera, Reduviidae) at least, the male and female genitalic structures of several subfamilies are poorly or totally unknown. The genital structure is mostly symmetric within Saicinae genera, but male genital asymmetry has been recorded in Gallobelgicus, Polytoxus, and recently Pseudosaica. The subfamily has been considered as closely related to Emesinae and Visayanocorinae but this hypothesis has never been tested using a comprehensive taxa sampling, being a constraint to test morphological traits changes or exploring characters' evolution hypotheses.

Continent-wide evidence that landscape context can mediate the effects of local habitats on in-field abundance of pests and natural enemies.

Landscape-scale factors known to influence in-field abundance of pest herbivores and their natural enemies, but little is known about effects that operate through the shorter-range influences exerted by habitats immediately adjacent to crop fields.This study first compared the abundance of brassica insect pests and their natural enemy arthropods in 24 spatially independent brassica vegetable fields across southern Australia. An 'edge effect' index was used to compare the abundance of each taxon in the field center with abundance in areas of the crop adjacent to differing habitats.

A new species of emCosmoclopius/em Stål, 1866 from Argentina (Hemiptera, Reduviidae).

A new species of Cosmoclopius Stål, 1866, C. joceliae sp. nov.

Assessing the potential of unmanned aerial vehicle spraying of aqueous ozone as an outdoor disinfectant for SARS-CoV-2.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed gaps in our understanding of safe, effective and efficient means of disinfecting high use public spaces. Whilst this creates an opportunity for development and application of innovative approaches such as unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based disinfection, unregulated outdoor disinfection using chlorine has led to environmental and public health risks. This study has quantified the efficiency, safety and efficacy of UAV-based spraying of aqueous ozone.

Genetic dissection of assortative mating behavior.

The evolution of new species is made easier when traits under divergent ecological selection are also mating cues. Such ecological mating cues are now considered more common than previously thought, but we still know little about the genetic changes underlying their evolution or more generally about the genetic basis for assortative mating behaviors. Both tight physical linkage and the existence of large-effect preference loci will strengthen genetic associations between behavioral and ecological barriers, promoting the evolution of assortative mating.

The fate of endemic insects of the Andean region under the effect of global warming.

Three independent but complementary lines of research have provided evidence for the recognition of refugia: paleontology, phylogeography and species distributional modelling (SDM). SDM assesses the ecological requirements of a species based on its known occurrences and enables its distribution to be projected on past climatological reconstructions. One advantage over the other two approaches is that it provides an explicit link to environment and geography, thereby enabling the analysis of a large number of taxa in the search for more general refugia patterns.

Biodiversity of Coreoidea and Pentatomidae (Heteroptera) from Atlantic forest protected areas. Insights into their conservation.

Although the majority of threatened species are likely to be tropical insects, knowledge of the diversity, ecological role and impact of insect biodiversity loss on ecosystem processes is very limited. Specimens belonging to four families of Heteroptera: Pentatomidae, Coreidae, Alydidae and Rhopalidae, were collected from a protected area in the Paraná Forest, the largest ecoregion of the Atlantic Forest, in Argentina. The assemblages were characterized and the biodiversity estimated, and they were compared with the assemblages found in five other protected areas in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

Designing and evaluating a health education session on respiratory infections addressed to caregivers of children under three years of age attending day-care centres in Porto, Portugal: A community-based intervention.

Background: Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are common in children, increasing the pressure on clinicians to prescribe antibiotics and affecting public health Objectives: This study aimed to design a health education session (HES) for caregivers of children, and to evaluate its effects on caregivers' needs, as well as on their knowledge and attitudes concerning ARI.

Methods: A generalized model of developing, implementing and evaluating a community-based intervention was followed, including caregivers of children under three years of age. Caregivers were randomly distributed into an intervention group (IG) (n = 41) and a control group (CG) (n = 51) and the HES was administered to the IG.

Understanding spirituality from the perspective of patients with mental disorders: contributions to nursing care.

Objective: To understand the meanings of spirituality from the perspective of patients with mental disorders.

Method: Qualitative phenomenological research conducted with nine users of a centre for psychosocial care in a city in the interior of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in February 2014.

Results: Two units of meaning emerged from the comprehensive analysis: Spirituality is a therapeutic support for mental health; The temple is the religious manifestation of spirituality.

Women's temporality after cardiac surgery: contributions to nursing care.

Objective: to unveil women's existential movement after cardiac surgery.

Method: qualitative phenomenological study. The research setting was a hospital in Minas Gerais, in which ten women were interviewed between December 2011 and January 2012.

Inhibition of the hemolytic activity caused by Staphylococcus aureus alpha-hemolysin through isatin-Schiff copper(II) complexes.

A great number of pathogens secrete pore-forming proteins during infection. Such molecules, from either bacterial or viral origin, are considered important virulence factors, which makes them attractive targets in the study of new therapeutic agents. Thus, the inhibitory activity of isatin-Schiff base copper(II) complexes was evaluated against membrane damage activity of Staphylococcus aureus α-hemolysin (α-HL).

Enterotoxin-Encoding Genes in Staphylococcus spp. from Food Handlers in a University Restaurant.

Food handlers carrying enterotoxin-producing Staphylococcus are a potential source of food poisoning. The aim of this study was to analyze genes encoding enterotoxins in coagulase-positive Staphylococcus (CoPS) and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) isolated from the anterior nostrils and hands of food handlers at a university restaurant in the city of Natal, Northeast Brazil. Thirty food handlers were screened for the study.

Emergence of methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci resistant to linezolid with rRNA gene C2190T and G2603T mutations.

The aim of this article were to determinate the mechanism of linezolid resistance in coagulase-negative methicillin-resistant staphylococci from hospitals in the northeast of Brazil. We identified the isolates using VITEK(®) 2 and MALDI-TOF. Susceptibility to antibiotics was measured by the disk-diffusion method and by Etest(®) .

The origins of reproductive isolation in plants.

Reproductive isolation in plants occurs through multiple barriers that restrict gene flow between populations, but their origins remain uncertain. Work in the past decade has shown that postpollination barriers, such as the failure to form hybrid seeds or sterility of hybrid offspring, are often less strong than prepollination barriers. Evidence implicates multiple evolutionary forces in the origins of reproductive barriers, including mutation, stochastic processes and natural selection.

Biodiversity and distribution of lethaeine seed bugs (Heteroptera, Rhyparochromidae, Lethaeini) from Argentina.

Background: The tribe Lethaeini has received little attention in Argentina. In 2014, Dellapé recorded 9 genera and 15 species from this country.

Results: A comprehensive study of the Lethaeini (Heteroptera, Rhyparochromidae) from Argentina is presented.

Characterization of middle-ear condition of Oporto daycare children up-to 3 years-old: a cross sectional study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine tympanometric values of children who attend Oporto daycare centers and further analyze any relations with host and environmental factors.

Methods: Cross sectional study in a randomly selected sample of 117 daycare children up-to 3-years old from Oporto. Tympanometric measures were collected.

Brain damage and congenital cataract due to autogenously fecal peritonitis in pregnant Wistar rats.

Purpose: To investigate the morphological aspects of brain and eyes in newborn rats whose mother underwent autogenously fecal peritonitis.

Methods: Four pregnant rats that underwent fecal peritonitis, with a 10% fecal suspension in dose of 4 ml per kilogram received two antimicrobial treatments: 1. intraperitoneal moxifloxacin and dexamethazone; and 2.

Severe autogenously fecal peritonitis in ageing Wistar rats. Response to intravenous meropenem.

Purpose: To evaluate the treatment outcome of severe peritonitis in rats with increasing age.

Methods: Thirty Wistar rats stratified in three groups: group I - six month-old; group II - 12 month-old; and group III - 18 month-old, underwent autogenously fecal peritonitis (6 ml/kg rat), and were treated with intravenous meropenem. The survival animals were followed-up for 45 days.

Prevalence of subgingival Staphylococcus at periodontally healthy and diseased sites.

Staphylococci are considered members of the transient oral microbiota and are seldom isolated from the oral cavity. The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of subgingival staphylococci in healthy and periodontal disease sites. Sterile endodontic paper points were used to isolate subgingival staphylococci in periodontally healthy and periodontally diseased sites in 30 adult subjects (n=540 sites).

Alcohol extract of Schinu sterebinthifolius raddi (anacardiaceae) as a local antimicrobial agent in severe autogenously fecal peritonitis in rats.

Purpose: To develop an alcoholic extract of the inner bark of the Schinus terebinthifolius raddi and to test its impact on autogenously fecal peritonitis in Wistar rats.

Methods: The inner bark of the Schinus terebinthifolius raddi was kept for seven days in 70% ethanol alcohol. The total elimination of the solvent was performed in a rotary evaporator under reduced pressure at 55-60°C.

Quantification of polyphenols and evaluation of antimicrobial, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of aqueous and acetone-water extracts of Libidibia ferrea, Parapiptadenia rigida and Psidium guajava.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Vast numbers of plant species from northeastern Brazil have not yet been phytochemically or biologically evaluated.

Aim Of The Study: The goal of this work was to obtain, characterize and show the antimicrobial, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities of aqueous and acetone-water extracts of Libidibia ferrea, Parapiptadenia rigida and Psidium guajava.

Materials And Methods: The plant material (100g) was dried, and the crude extracts were obtained by using turbo-extraction (10%; w/v) with water or acetone:water (7:3, v/v) as the extraction solvent.