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First record of Aetomylaeus asperrimus Gilbert, 1898, Roughskin Eagle Ray (Myliobatiformes, Myliobatidae), from El Salvador: additional data from the Eastern Tropical Pacific
No full textIn 2024, two females of Aetomylaeus asperrimus Gilbert, 1989 (Myliobatiformes, Myliobatidae) were caught while fishing using an artisanal longline in El Salvador. The rays were identified by their rhomboid disc and unique dorsal pattern. An analysis of stomach contents showed a diet mainly composed of crustaceans and gastropods. In Central America, this species has only been reported from Panama and Costa Rica. The new data highlights the need for further study of this species with the collaboration of local communities
Are range limits concordant with climatic niche requirements in alien plants? Leguminous invasive plants as case study, along a latitudinal gradient, central Chile
No full textHow do species reach the limits of their distribution and what prevents their continued expansion beyond these ranges? Exotic plant species represent a natural experiment to answer these questions. If climate is the limiting factor, then one would expect a matching between the observed range limit for a species and the range limit predicted by its climatic niche. If there is no matching, then other factors such as dispersal limitation, competition or facilitation come into play. In this work, the predicted and observed range limits for eight exotic legume species were compared: Acacia dealbata, Acacia melanoxylon, Cytisus striatus, Teline monspessulana, Ulex europaeus, Lotus corniculatus, Trifolium suffocatum and Vicia villosa, in a latitudinal gradient in Chile. For the estimation of the observed range limit (North and South), absence/presence data were obtained from 30° to 43.1° south latitude. For the estimation of the predicted range limits, GBIF presence data were used to construct the global climatic niches, identifying suitable climatic zones (presences) and unsuitable climatic zones (absences). With this information, presence probability models were constructed with hierarchical Huisman-Olff-Fresh (HOF) regression, from which the predicted range limits (North and South) were obtained. Our results suggest that the species Acacia dealbata and Cytisus striatus have reached their predicted edge at the northern and at the southern end of the gradient. The rest of the species have not yet reached this limit across both geographic edges. At the southern end of the gradient, most species have not reached the limit predicted by the climatic niche; except for Cytisus striatus whose observed range limit is higher than predicted. Factors other than climate are discussed to explain the discrepancies between observed and predicted range limits
A preference-based daily meal recommendation framework for patients with diabetes
No full textIn recent years, food recommendation systems have garnered significant attention from internet users seeking diets that are both appealing and health-promoting. For individuals managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, personalized food recommendations that consider both individual preferences and nutritional requirements could potentially yield substantial benefits in maintaining an appropriate dietary regimen. Even though previous research works have been covered the problem of food recommendation for the diabetes domain, they suffer from an insufficient use of the corresponding domain knowledge, and from a deficient management of user preferences in this process. This study then presents a novel preference-based food recommendation framework specifically adapted for patients with diabetes, and that mitigates such previous gaps. Experimental findings suggest that within this context, a balance can be achieved between appealing and health promotion, resulting in nutritionally appropriate menus that simultaneously align with users’ preferences
A barcode database for insects associated with the spread of the Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus Disease in Côte d’Ivoire
No full textSwollen Shoot is a viral disease affecting cocoa trees, transmitted by several species of mealybugs (Insecta, Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha, Pseudococcidae). These insects maintain trophobiotic relationships with a complex and species-rich assemblage of ants protecting them and natural enemies controlling their populations. Here, we provide a curated DNA barcode database to characterise this insect community. Systematic observation of 7,500 cocoa trees was conducted, coupled with the collection of mealybug colonies and associated insect communities (parasitoids, predators and ants). Natural enemies were reared from mealybug colonies collected from 1,430 cocoa trees. Specimens were identified morphologically and sequenced for fragments of the standard DNA barcode region of the COI. We recovered 17 species of mealybugs from the family Pseudococcidae. Amongst these species, eight are new to the Ivorian cocoa orchard: Dysmicoccus neobrevipes Beardsley, Ferrisia dasylirii (Cockerell), Maconellicoccus ugandae (Laing), Paracoccus marginatus Williams & Granara de Willink, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley, Planococcus minor (Maskell), Pseudococcus concavocerarii James and Pseudococcus occiduus De Lotto. Three of these species were identified for the first time in cocoa orchards in Africa: D. neobrevipes, Fe. dasylirii and Ph. solenopsis. A total of 54 ant species were identified and represented the first record of these species associated with mealybug colonies in cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire. Amongst the species associated with the mealybugs, 22 primary parasitoids, eight hyperparasitoids, 11 ladybirds beetles (Coccinellidae), seven gall midges (Cecidomyidae), one predatory lepidopteran species and four spider species were identified. Nine species of mealybugs parasitoids are newly recorded in the African cocoa orchards: Acerophagus aff. dysmicocci, Aloencyrtus sp., Anagyrus kamali, Anagyrus aff. pseudococci, Aenasius advena, Clausenia aff. corrugata, Gyranusoidea aff. tebygi, Zaplatycerus aff. natalensis (Encyrtidae) and Coccophagus pulvinariae (Aphelinidae) and one hyperparasitoid, Pachyneuron muscarum (Pteromalidae). For Côte d’Ivoire in particular, besides the previously mentioned nine parasitoids and one hyperparasitoid, five additional species are recorded for the first time, including four primary parasitoids, Blepyrus insularis (Encyrtidae), Clausenia corrugata (Encyrtidae), Clausenia sp. (Encyrtidae), and Coccidoctonus pseudococci (Encyrtidae) and one hyperparasitoid, Cheiloneurus cyanonotus (Encyrtidae). These results significantly enhance the knowledge of the diversity of the entomofauna associated with Swollen Shoot disease and pave the way for developing control methods based on the natural regulation of its mealybug (Pseudococcidae) vectors
Range extension of Amolops himalayanus (Boulenger, 1888) (Anura, Ranidae), first record from China and first description of the juvenile of this species
No full textAmolops himalayanus (Boulenger, 1888) is a poorly-known species which was originally described from north-eastern India over a hundred years ago. Currently, A. himalayanus is known only from India and Nepal and there is no reliable re-description or photos of this species reported.We record Amolops himalayanus (Boulenger, 1888) from China for the first time, based on one specimen collected from Yadong County, Xizang Autonomous Region, China. Although the specimen from China is a juvenile, however, phylogenetically, it was clustered with the syntype of A. himalayanus and the specimens of this species from Nepal with strong support and the genetic distance between the specimen from China and the syntype of A. himalayanus was only 0.7% in 16S gene sequences. We provide a description of the juvenile specimen and, in addition, we provide reliable photos of this species in life for the first time
Progress toward a list of saproxylic beetles (Coleoptera) in the southeastern USA
No full textDeadwood-dependent (saproxylic) insects represent a large proportion of forest biodiversity, are major contributors to ecosystem processes, and are conservation priorities due to their sensitivity to changing forest conditions. Despite relevance across much of the world, research on saproxylic biodiversity has been concentrated in Europe where interest was first generated. A major impediment for this field elsewhere is a lack of resources to determine which species are saproxylic. Here, we attempt to facilitate research on saproxylic beetles (Coleoptera) in the southeastern USA by compiling information from 18 published studies and theses in the region. A list of 1,393 taxa (species or genera) from 74 families is provided with deadwood associations. This includes 891 taxa from 71 families that were reared or emerged from deadwood, and 831 taxa from 61 families that were collected from bulk trapping methods and considered to be saproxylic, or were previously included in a list of regional deadwood taxa. Additionally, for 293 taxa from non-economically important families that were considered to be saproxylic in a recently published study, known saproxylic habits, microhabitat associations, and conservation notes are listed. Sixty-eight of these species represent new state records in Georgia, USA. Although a checklist of saproxylic species is needed for the southeastern USA, it is precluded by a dearth of knowledge about the natural history and distribution of species in the region. Increasing our understanding of these species’ habitat requirements is essential for understanding biodiversity responses to changing forest conditions and assessing conservation needs
Cost-effectiveness analysis and medication use for gangrene treatment in type 2 diabetes patients: A systematic literature review
No full textThis systematic literature review assesses the cost-effectiveness and medication use in treating gangrene among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The review focuses on evaluating different treatment regimens and identifying key factors that influence cost-effectiveness outcomes. A total of 22 studies were analyzed to understand regional variations in treatment approaches and the cost-effectiveness of medications, including empagliflozin, semaglutide, and TLC-NOSF dressings, among others. The methodology involved a comprehensive search of databases for relevant studies published between 2019 and 2024. The search terms were selected based on the population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes (PICO) framework, with keywords such as “type 2 diabetes mellitus,” “gangrene,” “foot ulcers,” and “cost-effectiveness,” followed by an in-depth analysis using VOSviewer to map keyword trends and relationships. The search terms were selected based on the population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes (PICO) framework, with keywords such as “type 2 diabetes mellitus,” “gangrene,” “foot ulcers,” and “cost-effectiveness.”. The studies were evaluated based on their design, population characteristics, interventions, outcomes, and economic impact. The results showed significant geographic variations, with higher cost-effectiveness reported in developed countries due to better access to advanced treatments. Medications like empagliflozin and semaglutide consistently demonstrated superior cost-effectiveness, particularly in managing cardiovascular complications in high-risk T2DM patients. Patient adherence was also identified as a crucial factor in improving long-term clinical outcomes and reducing healthcare costs. In conclusion, this review highlights the importance of cost-effective treatments and patient adherence in managing gangrene in T2DM patients. Access to innovative medications and support for adherence are essential for optimizing both clinical outcomes and economic sustainability
Descriptions of hitherto unknown larvae of the genus Hydropsyche Pictet, 1834 from China (Trichoptera, Hydropsychidae)
No full textHydropsyche Pictet, 1834 is the largest genus of Hydropsychinae. In China, larval descriptions exist for only about 20 species. Although the number of Hydropsyche larvae described in China has increased rapidly in recent years, larvae of more than 75% of Chinese Hydropsyche species remain unknown.In this paper, we describe and illustrate the larvae of Hydropsyche briareus Malicky & Chantaramongkol, 2000 and Hydropsyche kozhantschikovi Martynov, 1924 for the first time. Neighbour-joining trees were reconstructed, based on known partial Hydropsyche species mtCOI barcodes
From literature to biodiversity data: mining arthropod organismal and ecological traits with machine learning
No full textThe fields of taxonomy and biodiversity research have witnessed an exponential growth in published literature. This vast corpus of articles holds information on the diverse biological traits of organisms and their ecologies. However, access to and extraction of relevant data from this extensive resource remain challenging. Advances in text and data mining (TDM) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques offer new opportunities for liberating such information from the literature. Testing and using such approaches to annotate articles in machine actionable formats is therefore necessary to enable the exploitation of existing knowledge in new biology, ecology, and evolution research. Here we explore the potential of these methods to annotate and extract organismal and ecological trait data for the most diverse animal group on Earth, the arthropods. The article processing workflow uses manually curated trait dictionaries with trained NLP models to perform labelling of entities and relationships of thousands of articles. A subset of manually annotated documents facilitated the formal evaluation of the performance of the workflow in terms of entity recognition and normalisation, and relationship extraction, highlighting several important technical challenges. The results are made available to the scientific community through an interactive web tool and queryable resource, the ArTraDB Arthropod Trait Database. These methodological explorations provide a framework that could be extended beyond the arthropods, where TDM and NLP approaches applied to the taxonomy and biodiversity literature will greatly facilitate data synthesis studies and literature reviews, the identification of knowledge gaps and biases, as well as the data-informed investigation of ecological and evolutionary trends and patterns
Water mite diversity from southwestern Türkiye through the lens of the DNA barcodes, with the description of one new species (Acari, Hydrachnidia)
No full textThis study presents the molecular and morphological results from an analysis of water mites collected in southwestern Türkiye. 83 COI barcodes are provided, clustered into 40 BINs, with 23 BINs being unique and deposited for the first time in the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD). The first DNA barcodes for eight water mite species are uploaded into the BOLD database. In total, 34 water mite species were identified and one of them, Iranothyas marismortui (Gerecke, 1999) is newly reported from Türkiye. Iranothyas alhajarica Pešić, Gerecke & Smit, 2009 is excluded from the fauna of Türkiye. Sperchon fundamentalis Bader & Sepasgozarian, 1980, a species previously synonymized with S. glandulosus Koenike, 1886 is resurrected as a valid species. One species, Atractides turani Pešić, Zawal, Gülle & Smit, sp. nov. (Hygrobatidae), is described as new to science