Search

A new species, Strymon cryptodes sp. nov. is described from puna grasslands of northern Peru. Its phenotype corresponds with the male paralectotype of a congeneric species originally described as Thecla heodes Druce, 1909, which, in consequence, turns out to be a mixture of two biological species. Males of S. heodes have conspicuous scent patches, absent in S. cryptodes sp. nov. The new species is known from four individuals recently collected in the vicinity of the city of Cajamarca and two historical specimens from other localities in the department of Cajamarca. Based on wing colour patterns and other morphological characters S. cryptodes sp. nov. is placed in the Strymon istapa species-group defined by Robbins & Nicolay (2002), although the presence or absence of male androconial patch and genitalia brush organ are demonstrated not to be a valid diagnostic infrageneric character. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work assesses the suitability of a first simple attempt for process-conditioned bias correction in the context of seasonal forecasting. To do this, we focus on the northwestern part of Peru and bias correct 1- and 4-month lead seasonal predictions of boreal winter (DJF) precipitation from the ECMWF System4 forecasting system for the period 1981-2010. In order to include information about the underlying large-scale circulation which may help to discriminate between precipitation affected by different processes, we introduce here an empirical quantile-quantile mapping method which runs conditioned on the state of the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), which is accurately predicted by System4 and is known to affect the local climate. Beyond the reduction of model biases, our results show that the SOI-conditioned method yields better ROC skill scores and reliability than the raw model output over the entire region of study, whereas the standard unconditioned implementation provides no added value for any of these metrics. This suggests that conditioning the bias correction on simple but well-simulated large-scale processes relevant to the local climate may be a suitable approach for seasonal forecasting. Yet, further research on the suitability of the application of similar approaches to the one considered here for other regions, seasons and/or variables is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) constitute a major health problem worldwide where routine screening of blood or blood products is improperly done, and where non-medical injecting medications and/or drug use are prevalent. Prevalence and risk factors vary by geographic location and by the specific TTI (including HIV-1, HBV, HCV and HTLV-I). Objective: To determine theprevalence and risk factors associated with TTIs among a sample of multi-transfused adult patients in Peru. Study design: A cross-sectionalmulti-center study was conducted across seven major hospitals in Peru from February 2003 to September 2004. Self-reported behavior information (medical procedures, number of sexual partners, and drug use history) was analyzed, along with a review of exposure history from hospital medical records. Prevalences were calculated by TTI for different exposures, along with unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios for infection risk. Results: Overall, 192 (54.7%) of 351 multi-transfused patients were found infected with one or more TTIs.Number of transfusion units, years of transfusion history (6 or more), and number of treatment facilities (2 or more) were associated with HCV infection. Hemodialysis history was a common risk factor associated with HBV, HCV and HTLV-I infection. HIV infection was associated only with total number of transfusion units received. Conclusions: High prevalences of HBV and HCV infection were foundamong Peruvian multi-transfused patients and were associated with a past history and number of blood transfusions, as well as with past hemodialysis procedures. TTIs continue to represent a significant public health problem in Peru. Continued vigilant attention to blood safety procedures, including universal screening and health care provider education, is recommended. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]