The present paper describes a new species of Dermadena (Digenea) parasitizing Pseudobalistes naufragium in Puerto Pizarro, northern Peru, using light and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). Additionally, molecular analysis was also performed to determine the phylogenetic affinities of Dermadena within the Lepocreadiidae. The new species is differentiated from Dermadena spatiosa, Dermadena stirlingi and Dermadena lactophrysi by presenting a curved and well-developed external seminal vesicle. Also, SEM revealed numerous dome-shaped tegument protuberances forming glandular papillae with transversal wrinkles arranged roughly in concentric rows around the acetabular region, varying in size from large at the middle of the body to small at the margin. In the molecular phylogeny, the new species formed a well-supported clade with sequences of species from the Lepocreadiidae, confirming that it belongs to this family.

In this work, model closures of the multiphase Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations are developed for homogeneous, fully developed gas–particle flows. To date, the majority of RANS closures are based on extensions of single-phase turbulence models, which fail to capture complex two-phase flow dynamics across dilute and dense regimes, especially when two-way coupling between the phases is important. In the present study, particles settle under gravity in an unbounded viscous fluid. At sufficient mass loadings, interphase momentum exchange between the phases results in the spontaneous generation of particle clusters that sustain velocity fluctuations in the fluid. Data generated from Eulerian–Lagrangian simulations are used in a sparse regression method for model closure that ensures form invariance. Particular attention is paid to modelling the unclosed terms unique to the multiphase RANS equations (drag production, drag exchange, pressure strain and viscous dissipation). A minimal set of tensors is presented that serve as the basis for modelling. It is found that sparse regression identifies compact, algebraic models that are accurate across flow conditions and robust to sparse training data.

Nematode species of the genus Contracaecum Railliet & Henry, 1912 have been reported around the world in many species of fish-eating birds and seals. Here, Contracaecum jorgei n. sp. is morphologically described using light and scanning electron microscopy for adults and fourth-stage larvae (L4) found in the bird Nannopterum brasilianus and third-stage larvae (L3) found in the freshwater fish Hoplias argentinensis, both from the province of Córdoba, Argentina. Additionally, sequences of cytochrome c oxidase subunit II were obtained from these specimens and molecular phylogenetic analysis was used to determine its relationships within the genus. The present species is distinguished from other species by the number and disposition of cephalic papillae; shape and size of the interlabia; length of the spicules; and number and arrangement of papillae in the posterior end of the male. Furthermore, in the molecular analyses, sequences obtained from adult L4 and L3 specimens of C. jorgei n. sp. were similar and grouped, forming an independent lineage, thus confirming it as a distinct species. Thus, morphological characteristics associated with molecular data support the proposal of a new species.

Several studies have attempted to understand the dimensions of psychiatric symptoms in manic episodes, but only a few have been able to model the latent structure of mania in bipolar disorder patients using confirmatory factor analysis. The objective of the present study was to search for the best model of the symptomatology of hospitalized manic patients. To achieve this goal, 117 manic inpatients during a manic crisis participated in this research. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted followed by confirmatory factor analysis using an exploratory factor analysis solution and three other theory-based models. The exploratory factor analysis results revealed a six-factor structure: depression, suicide, insomnia, mania, psychosis, and anxiety. This solution also presented the best fit to the data when tested with confirmatory factor analysis. A five-factor solution, without suicide as a separate dimension, appeared to be more theoretically suitable. Another important finding was that anxiety was an independent dimension in mania. Some hypotheses are discussed in light of contemporary theories, and future studies should investigate this aspect further.

Alkali-borosilicate glasses (ABS) are used as host immobilization matrices for different radioactive waste streams and are characterized by their ability to incorporate a wide variety of metal oxides with respectively high waste loadings. The vitreous wasteform is also characterized by very good physical and chemical durability. The durability of three ABS compositions were analyzed by investigating their leaching behavior using the MCC1 test protocol and these data were used to investigate the waste components retention in the altered layer and the evolution of the interfacial water composition during the test. The results indicated that the Mg species evolution is exceptional with respect to other alkaline elements and dependent on glass matrix composition and leaching progress, while transition elements speciation is fairly constant throughout leaching process and independent on glass compositions. Si and B species are changing during leaching process and are affected by waste composition. For modified wasteform sample, evolution of Mg, Si and B species is respectively constant, whereas at highest waste loading, these elements have fairly constant speciation evolution within the first 2 weeks of leaching.

Nematodes of the genus Physaloptera are globally distributed and more than 100 species are known. Their life cycle involves insects, including beetles, cockroaches and crickets, as intermediate hosts. This study describes a new species of Physaloptera and reports molecular phylogenetic analyses to determine its relationships within the family Physalopteridae. Physaloptera amazonica n. sp. is described from the stomach of the caviomorph rodent Proechimys gardneri collected in the Amazon rainforest in the state of Acre, Brazil. The species is characterized by the male having the first and second pair of sessile papillae asymmetrically placed, lacking a median papilla-like protuberance between the third pairs of sessile papillae, differentiated by size and shape of the spicules, while females have four uterine branches. For both nuclear 18S rRNA and MT-CO1 gene-based phylogenies, we recovered Turgida sequences forming a clade nested within Physaloptera, thus making Physaloptera paraphyletic to the exclusion of Turgida, suggesting that the latter may have evolved from the former monodelphic ancestral state to a derived polydelphic state, or that some species of Physaloptera may belong to different genera. Relationships between most taxa within Physaloptera were poorly resolved in our phylogenies, producing multifurcations or a star phylogeny. The star-like pattern may be attributed to evolutionary processes where past simultaneous species diversification events took place. Physaloptera amazonica n. sp. formed an independent lineage, separately from the other species of Physaloptera, thus supporting the status of a new species. However, all molecular data suggested a closer relationship with other Neotropical species. In conclusion, we added a new species to this already largely diverse genus Physaloptera, bringing new insights to its phylogenetic relationships. Further analyses, adding more species and markers, should provide a better understanding of the evolutionary history of physalopterids.

A new species of Nippostrongylinae (Nematoda: Heligmonellidae), Stilestrongylus rolandoi n. sp., is described from specimens collected from the small intestine of the rodent Euryoryzomys russatus in the Atlantic Forest (Santo Amaro da Imperatriz, Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil). The genus Stilestrongylus includes 23 species, which parasitize rodents occurring in the Neotropical region. Stilestrongylus aureus (Durette-Desset & Sutton, 1985) from Argentina, S. azarai (Durette-Desset & Sutton, 1985) from Argentina, S. flavescens (Sutton & Durette-Desset, 1991) from Uruguay, S. franciscanus (Digiani & Durette-Desset, 2002) from Argentina, S. gracielae (Digiani & Durette-Desset, 2006) from Argentina, and S. oryzomysi (Sutton & Durette-Desset, 1991) from Argentina are closely related to Stilestrongylus rolandoi n. sp., all having caudal bursa patterns of types 1–4 in one of the lobes. Stilestrongylus rolandoi n. sp. is distinguished from the aforementioned species by its ray 6 being short in relation to rays 4 and 5, which are long and robust, and by having caudal bursa patterns of types 1–4 in both lobes. The new species has 27 ridges in the mid-body in males, and 24 in females, and has one of the highest ratios of spicule length to body length (21−33%) in this genus.

Nauclea diderrichii (De Wild and Th. Dür.) (common name Kusia and trade name, Opepe) is an evergreen tree found throughout the tropical rainforests of West Africa. It is heavily exploited for its timber and listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The shoot borer Orygmophora mediofoveata Hamps, which attacks the nursery stage, has hampered attempts to establish N. diderrichii plantations in Ghana. This study examined the potential of four insecticides to protect N. diderrichii seedlings from O. mediofoveata attack and damage. Four insecticides–Pyrinex (chlorpyrifos), Dursban (chlorpyrifos), Cerox (dimethoate) and Golan (acetamiprid)–were applied to four-month-old N. diderrichii seedlings growing in full sunlight and under shade (80% of normal light), to evaluate their effects on incidence of attack, survival, severity of damage and growth. Insecticide treatment and light conditions had variable effects on the damage and growth of the seedlings after six months of evaluation. Seedling survival was not significantly influenced by the insecticide treatment. Percent survival of insecticide-treated seedlings did not differ significantly from that of control seedlings in full sun; however, under shade survival of treated seedlings was significantly higher than control seedlings. Nonetheless, control seedlings in full sun had higher survival (92.5%) than those under shade (62.5%). Insecticide-treated seedlings in full sun had lower incidence of shoot borer attack than those under shade. In full sun, dieback incidence following shoot borer attack was significantly lower for insecticide-treated than control seedlings. Growth in height and girth of seedlings was influenced positively by both insecticide and light, with girth especially being significantly lower under shade conditions. Currently, N. diderrichii seedlings are typically raised under shade; however, this study shows that raising seedlings in full sun with insecticide application could result in faster and better growth.

Pterygodermatites (Paucipectines) zygodontomis, a nematode parasite of the small intestine of the rodent Necromys lasiurus, from Uberlândia, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, was analysed by light and scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, phylogenies were inferred from the mitochondrially encoded cytochrome c oxidase I gene (MT-CO1). Details of the helminth surface, such as the oral aperture, cephalic papillae, papillae in the posterior region of the body and longitudinal cuticular elements represented by spine-like projections and fans are presented, adding new taxonomic details. Molecular phylogenetic analysis, based on the MT-CO1, demonstrated that P. (P.) zygodontomis and Pterygodermatites (Paucipectines) jaegerskioldi form a unique evolutionary unit in accordance with the subgenus Paucipectines and corroborated their occurrence in cricetid and didelphid hosts.

A retrospective study of 100 patients with spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage was carried out, to identify clinical factors which have a predictive value for outcome. Numerical equivalents for the admission level of consciousness (the Glasgow Coma Scale), ventricular rupture, partial pressure of oxygen in the blood, the electrocardiogram, clot location, and clot size were combined into equations predicting outcome. The best single parameter for prediction was the Glasgow Coma Scale.

Of 13 patients with Fried-reich's ataxia (Type la) and 17 with type Ila recessive ataxias, all were found to have levels of “free erythrocyte protoporphyrin “ (FEP) above the normal range. The rise in FEP in Friedreich's ataxia correlated well with the age of the individual and thus appears to be related to the course of the disease. Subjects with olivo-ponto-cerebel-lar atrophy, Charlevoix syndrome, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and Parkinson's disease were also found to have significantly elevated FEP, although the distribution overlapped with the normal range.

The finding of elevated FEP may indicate a relative heme deficiency in ataxia due to inhibition offerrochelatase leading to a state of ineffective, persistent erythropoiesis. The possibility of a prosta-glandin abnormality being related to this defect and to the pathogenesis of ataxia is considered.

The influence of habitat structure on helminth communities of three sigomdontinae rodent species (Akodon cursor, A. montensis and Oligoryzomys nigripes) was investigated in forest fragments within an agricultural landscape in south-eastern Brazil. This is a pionner study correlating the occurrence of helminth species of rodent hosts with microhabitat characteristics. Rodents were collected from 12 fragments and in a continuous conserved area. Up to 13 nematode, three cestode and two trematode species were identified, and habitat fragmentation was found to have more influence on the helminth composition of O. nigripes compared to the other two rodent species. Fragmentation appeared to limit the development of some helminths’ life cycles, e.g. with some species such as Trichofreitasia lenti, Protospirura numidica, Cysticercus fasciolaris and Avellaria sp., occurring mostly in areas with less anthropic impact. However, fragmentation did not seem to affect the life cycles of other dominant helminths, such as the trematode Canaania obesa, the nematodes Stilestrongylus lanfrediae,S. eta and S. aculeata, and the cestode Rodentolepis akodontis. The helminth community structure followed a nested pattern of distribution in A. montensis and O. nigripes. Stilestrongylus lanfrediae seemed to be more associated with dense understorey, C. obesa with open canopy and dense understorey, and Guerrerostrongylus zetta with organic matter on the ground. Their presence in each area may be explained by aspects of their life cycles that take place in the external environment outside the host.

Rattus norvegicus has attracted much attention because of its role as a reservoir of zoonotic pathogens. This work aimed to identify the intestinal helminth species in R. norvegicus and to analyse the effects of temperature, rainfall, host age and sex on the helminth community structure. Moreover, this study investigated the possible associations among helminth species in an urban population of R. norvegicus in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, sampled during the rainy and dry seasons over a span of 2 years. A total of 112 rats were infected by six species of helminths. The nematode Nippostrongylus brasiliensis was the most prevalent and abundant species, with high mean intensity in both seasons, followed by Strongyloides venezuelensis, Heterakis spumosa, Raillietina sp., Hymenolepis nana and Moniliformis moniliformis. Co-occurrence was found between N. brasiliensis and S. venezuelensis and between N. brasiliensis and H. spumosa. The occurrence of S. venezuelensis was related to rainfall. The understanding of the helminth community structure in this synanthropic rat provides basic information on parasites of public health importance, as two helminth species (H. nana and M. moniliformis) recovered from rats in the urban area studied can infect humans.