The Asian corn borer (ACB), Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenée, 1854), is a serious pest of several crops, particularly a destructive pest of maize and other cereals throughout most of Asia, including China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Cambodia. It has long been known as a pest in South-east Asia and has invaded other parts of Asia, Solomon Islands, parts of Africa and certain regions of Australia and Russia. Consequently, worldwide efforts have been increased to ensure new control strategies for O. furnacalis management. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of the ACB covering its (i) distribution (geographic range and seasonal variations), (ii) morphology and ecology (taxonomy, life-history, host plants and economic importance) and (iii) management strategies (which include agroecological approaches, mating disruption, integrated genetic approaches, chemical as well as biological control). Furthermore, we conclude this review with recommendations to provide some suggestions for improving eco-friendly pest management strategies to enhance the sustainable management of ACB in infested areas.

Mineralogy, kaolin crystallinity, Fe content, δO18, and δD were determined for late Cretaceous “soft” and early Tertiary “hard” Georgia kaolins. The crystallinity of the <0.5-, 0.5–1.0-, and 1.0–2.0- μm size fractions of soft kaolins was higher than that of equivalent size fractions of hard kaolins. δO18 and δD of the soft and hard kaolins ranged between 18.5 to 23.1‰, and −64 to −41‰, respectively, and could not be used to discriminate soft from hard kaolins. The trends of crystallinity vs. δO18 were different for kaolins collected at different localities, and, for a given sample, δO18 generally decreased with increasing crystallinity and with increasing crystallite size. These data indicate that the Tertiary kaolins could not have been simply derived from the Cretaceous kaolins by winnowing unless post-sedimentation recrystallization of one or both occurred. δD vs. δO18 systematics indicate that the late Cretaceous to early Tertiary Georgia kaolins crystallized over a temperature range of about 15°C in the presence of waters that varied little in isotopic composition.

Diplozoidae are common monogenean ectoparasites of cyprinoid fish, with the genus Paradiplozoon being the most diversified. Despite recent studies on Diplozoidae from Europe, Africa and Asia, the diversity, distribution and phylogeny of this parasite group appears to be still underestimated in the Middle East. The objective of this study was to investigate the diversity, endemism and host specificity of diplozoids parasitizing cyprinoid fish from the Middle East, considering this region as an important historical interchange of fish fauna, and to elucidate the phylogenetic position of Middle Eastern Paradiplozoon species within Diplozoidae. Four Paradiplozoon species were collected from 48 out of 94 investigated cyprinoid species. Three known species, Paradiplozoon homoion, Paradiplozoon bliccae and Paradiplozoon bingolensis, were recorded on new cyprinoid host species, and a new species, Paradiplozoon koubkovae n. sp., was recorded on Luciobarbus capito and Capoeta capoeta from the Caspian Sea basin in Iran and Turkey. Paradiplozoon bliccae, exhibiting a wide host range in the Middle East, expressed both morphological and genetic intraspecific variabilities. The four Paradiplozoon species collected in the Middle East were placed in divergent clades, showing the rich evolutionary history of diplozoid parasites in the Middle East. Our study also revealed that two lineages of African diplozoids have a Middle Eastern origin. We stress the importance of applying an integrative approach combining morphological, ecological and molecular methods to reveal the real diversity of diplozoids.

The Almogholagh–Dehgolan region is in the North Sanandaj–Sirjan zone of NW Iran. The granites of the region are metaluminous and display geochemical and textural characteristics of transitional granites between ferroan (A-type) and I-type granites. In geotectonic discrimination diagrams, the Almogholagh–Dehgolan granites plot mainly in the fields of within-plate granites and volcanic arc granites. With the exception of the Qalaylan granites, parts of other granites resemble A2-type granites. Granites of the Qalaylan intrusive body have petrographic and geochemical features close to I-type granites and are not A-type. Primary mantle and chondrite-normalized spider diagrams show enrichments in light rare earth elements relative to heavy rare earth elements. For an age of 150 Ma, the initial 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd ratios vary from 0.702769 to 0.706545 and from 0.512431 to 0.512558, respectively. Epsilon Nd values vary in a relatively limited range between −0.3 and +2.2, which corresponds to a mixed mantle–crustal source. On the basis of new geochemical and isotopic data, we suggest a geodynamic model involving partial melting of lower crustal rocks with the contribution of mantle magmas in a weakly extensional tectonic setting for the generation of the A-type granites of the region. The occurrence of ferroan (A-type) granites in this region of the Sanandaj–Sirjan zone indicates the existence of a partly extensional tectonic environment in a mainly compressional subduction-related regime in Late Jurassic time.

We quantified the life table parameters and predation capacity of a generalist predatory mite, Typhlodromus bagdasarjani Wainstein and Arutunjan on five monotypic diets, including Tetranychus urticae Koch (TSSM) eggs in the presence (SW) and absence (SN) of webs, Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood (GHWF) eggs (G), honeydew (H), and maize pollen (M) as well as three mixed diets, including SN + M, SN + G, and G + M. Our results showed that the individuals fed on the mixed diets had a considerably shorter developmental time and pre-oviposition period (APOP), higher oviposition days, higher fecundity and population growth rate than those raised on the monotypic diets. Furthermore, we found that the mixed diet of TSSM and GHWF eggs was the most favorable diet, resulted in the highest fecundity and population growth rate, shortest developmental time and APOP. While TSSM eggs alone in the presence of webs and honeydew were the worst diets resulted in the longest developmental time, lower oviposition day, higher fecundity and population growth rate. Our data determined that TSSM has more nutritional benefits than GHWF for T. bagdasarjani. We observed the positive effects of pollen addition to prey on the predatory mite's immature and adult life-history characters; however, it reduced the predation rate. Overall, maize pollen could enhance ecosystem services provided against spider mites and whiteflies by positively impacting the increase of T. bagdasarjani population. This predator may be more effective when two prey species are available than when only one species is present.

Knowledge about the aging process and in particular changes affecting mental health in the elderly has been gradually acquired as more research studies focus on this topic. However, as the majority of studies are geared toward more commonly encountered mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety, there is less data for conditions that are encountered less frequently such as somatoform disorder. We present the case of a 62-year-old male who presents with idiopathic physical symptoms not explained by any medical conditions except somatic symptom disorder. A comprehensive review of the literature using databases, such as PubMed, NCBI, and Google Scholar was conducted to gain a better understanding of this specific disorder and to rule out similar conditions that present in a similar way. The purpose of this case report is to emphasize the fact that social stressors and phase of life problems could trigger somatic symptom disorder in otherwise healthy individuals.

The COVID-19 pandemic confronted the world with an unknown reality whose challenges extend beyond the immediate threat to human health posed by the virus itself. Numerous stressors such as fear of the disease gravity and absence of proper treatment protocols, prolonged social isolation, anxiety, and financial burden lead to increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders in patients with underlying mental health problems. We present a case of a 23-year-old female, with a history of anxiety and depression who presents with psychosis and mania after contracting 2019 novel coronavirus. The patient was asymptomatic for the infection. The purpose of this case report is to highlight the fact that COVID-19 can increase the risk of mania and new-onset psychosis in patients with a previous psychiatric history.

The citrus red mite, Panonychus citri McGregor, is a key pest of different citrus species in various parts of the world. Considering the key role of resistant host plants in integrated pest management strategies, we evaluated the effects of five citrus species including grapefruit (Citrus paradisi), lime (Citrus aurantifolia), tangerine (Citrus reticulata), orange (Citrus sinensis), and sour orange (Citrus aurantium) on life table parameters of P. citri under laboratory conditions (25 ± 1°C, 65 ± 5% RH, 16:8 L:D). In addition, biochemical traits of the citrus plant species were evaluated in order to understand any possible relationship between important life history parameters with biochemical metabolites of citrus plant leaves. Phytochemicals were determined in leaf extract of citrus plant species. Various citrus species had significant effects on life history and demographical parameters of P. citri. The longest pre-adult time was observed on grapefruit (16.52 ± 0.43 days). Higher fecundity rate was on orange (15.05 ± 2.41 eggs) and tangerine (14.60 ± 3.07 eggs) and the lowest was on grapefruit (7.21 ± 2.00 eggs). The highest intrinsic rate of increase (r) was recorded as 0.071 (day−1) on tangerine, and the lowest value of this parameter was obtained on grapefruit (0.016 day−1). Significant correlations were observed between life history parameters with biochemical metabolites (carbohydrate, phenolic compounds, anthocyanin, and flavonoid). The results revealed that grapefruit was a relatively resistant host plant and tangerine was the most suitable host plant for feeding of P. citri. Our findings could be helpful for sustainable management of P. citri in citrus orchards.

For maritime safety and security, vessels should be able to predict the trajectories of nearby vessels to avoid collision. This research proposes three novel models based on similarity search of trajectories that predict vessels' trajectories in the short and long term. The first and second prediction models are, respectively, point-based and trajectory-based models that consider constant distances between target and sample trajectories. The third prediction model is a trajectory-based model that exploits a long short-term memory approach to measure the dynamic distance between target and sample trajectories. To evaluate the performance of the proposed models, they are applied to a real automatic identification system (AIS) vessel dataset in the Strait of Georgia, USA. The models' accuracies in terms of Haversine distance between the predicted and actual positions show relative prediction error reductions of 40·85% for the second model compared with the first model and 23% for the third model compared with the second model.

Significant uncertainty remains regarding the exact timing and nature of subduction events during the closure of the Tethyan seas in what is now NW Iran. This study thus presents new geochemical compositions and U–Pb ages for a suite of volcanic rocks emplaced during Cenozoic volcanism in the west Alborz Magmatic Assemblage, which is commonly regarded as the back-arc of the Neotethyan magmatism in Central Iran. The subalkali basalts and andesites are dated to 57 ± 1.2 Ma, and are likely derived from a supra-subduction mantle wedge. Later, trachytic A-type rocks erupted from ∼42 to 25 Ma during an anorogenic (extensional) stage triggered by slab retreat and associated asthenospheric mantle influx. A-type melts were at least partly concurrent with lithospheric mantle magmatism implied by eruption of subalkali basalts–andesites around 26–24 Ma. Next, Amp-Bt trachybasaltic volcanism with high-Nb basaltic affinity at ∼19 Ma likely records slab deepening and slab partial melting, which reacted with the mantle wedge to produce the source material for the high-Nb basalts. Sr–Nd isotopic ratios for SE Ahar mafic as well as A-type rocks imply rather enriched mantle source(s). Some crustal contamination is implied by the presence of inherited zircons dominated by those derived from Neoproterozoic–Cambrian basement rocks and Carboniferous magmatism. Rhyolitic rocks with adakitic affinity probably mark the final volcanism in the study area. The adakitic rocks show crustal signatures such as high K and Th, probably formed as a consequence of higher temperature gradients, at crustal levels, imposed by both slab and mantle partial melts.

Transient electrohydrodynamics of a liquid drop at finite Reynolds numbers is studied by computer simulations. The governing equations of the problem are solved using a parallelized front tracking/finite difference method in the framework of the Taylor–Melcher leaky dielectric theory. The effect of the dielectric properties of the fluids on the dynamic response of the drop is studied by considering three representative fluid systems, which encompass all the regions of the deformation–circulation map. A parametric study is performed over a range of capillary number $Ca$, the Ohnesorge number squared $Oh^{2}$ and the viscosity ratio $\widetilde{\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}}$ to explore the effect of these parameters on the dynamic response. At low to intermediate capillary numbers, the dynamic response resembles that of a first- or second-order mechanical system, where the deformation settles to a steady state monotonically or through oscillations. However, beyond a threshold capillary number, the dynamic response becomes nonlinear. It is shown that the Ohnesorge number squared $Oh^{2}$ and the viscosity ratio $\widetilde{\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}}$ are the key parameters that determine the transition from a monotonic response to an oscillatory one (and vice versa) in density-matched fluid systems. To predict the dynamic response of nearly spherical drops at arbitrary $Oh^{2}$, an analytical equation is developed, which results in a critical Ohnesorge number squared $Oh_{c}^{2}$ that demarks a monotonic response from an oscillatory one. Investigations on the effect of the viscosity ratio $\widetilde{\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}}$ on the dynamic response shows that the relaxation time (for monotonic response) increases with an increase in $\widetilde{\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}}$ and that the steady state deformation ${\mathcal{D}}_{ss}$ correlates positively with $\widetilde{\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}}$ for oblate drops; however, depending on the corresponding regions of prolate drops on the deformation–circulation map, ${\mathcal{D}}_{ss}$ correlates positively or negatively with $\widetilde{\unicode[STIX]{x1D707}}$. A long-standing misconception regarding the oblate region is also rectified by development of a normal stress map, which determines the relative importance of the electric pressure and the normal hydrodynamic stress in setting the sense of the deformation of the drop.