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Aims: This study aimed to present the Johns Hopkins Adjusted Clinical Groups (ACG) System risk stratification profile of a total adult population of somatic health-care users when using data from either general practitioners (GPs) or hospital services and to compare the number and characteristics of individuals identified as having complex and long-term health-care needs in each data source. Methods: This was a registry-based study that included all adult residents (N =168,285) in four municipalities in Central Norway who received somatic health care during 2013. Risk profiles were generated using the ACG System based on age, sex and diagnoses registered by GPs or the local hospital. ACG output variables on number of chronic conditions, frailty and concurrent resource utilisation were chosen as indicators of complexity. Results: Nearly nine out of 10 (83.9%) of the population had been in contact with a GP, and 35.4% with the hospital. The mean number of diagnoses (3.0) was equal in both sources. A larger proportion of the population had higher risk scores in all variables except frailty when comparing hospital data to GP data. This was also found when comparing individuals identified as having complex and long-term health-care needs. A similar proportion of the population was found to have complex and long-term health-care needs (hospital 6.7%, GP 6.3%), but only one in five (21.5%) were identified in both data sets. Conclusions: As data from GPs and hospitals identified mostly different individuals with complex and long-term health-care needs, combining data sources is likely to be the best option for identifying those most in need of special attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This revision is part of a continuing series of taxonomic work aimed at the description of new taxa and the redescription of known taxa of the Tachinidae of Area de Conservación Guanacaste in northwestern Costa Rica. Here we describe 33 new species in the genus Belvosia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (Diptera: Tachinidae). All species described here were reared from this ongoing inventory of wild-caught caterpillars spanning a variety of families (Lepidoptera: Erebidae, Eupterotidae, Noctuidae, Notodontidae, Saturniidae, and Sphingidae). We provide a morphological description of each species with limited information on life history, molecular data, and photographic documentation. In addition to the new species, the authors provide a redescription of the genus Belvosia, as well as provide a key to the identification of the species present in the Meso- and North-American fauna. New information: The following 33 new species of Belvosia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830, all authored by Fleming & Woodley, are described: Belvosia adrianguadamuzi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia anacarballoae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia angelhernandezi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia brigittevilchezae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia alixtomoragai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia carolinacanoae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia ciriloumanai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia diniamartinezae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia duniagarciae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia duvalierbricenoi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia eldaarayae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia eliethcantillanoae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia freddyquesadai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia gloriasihezarae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia guillermopereirai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia harryramirezi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia hazelcambroneroae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia jorgehernandezi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia josecortezi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia joseperezi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia keinoraragoni Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia luciariosae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia manuelpereirai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia manuelriosi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia minorcarmonai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia osvaldoespinozai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia pabloumanai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia petronariosae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia ricardocaleroi Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia robertoespinozai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia rostermoragai Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia ruthfrancoae Fleming & Woodley sp. n., Belvosia sergioriosi Fleming & Woodley sp. n. Belvosia canalis Aldrich, 1928 is reared and recorded from the inventory; new information relative to host is provided and the species is rediscribed. The following are proposed by Fleming & Woodley as new synonyms of Belvosia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830: Brachybelvosia Townsend, 1927 syn. n., Belvosiomimops Townsend, 1935 syn. n. The following three new combinations are proposed as a result of the new synonymies: Belvosia brasilensis (Townsend, 1927), comb. n.; and Belvosia barbiellinii (Townsend, 1935), comb. n. The authors also propose the following new synonymies: Belvosia brasilensis (Townsend, 1927) = Belvosia aurulenta (Bigot, 1888), syn. n.; Belvosia pollinosa Rowe, 1933 = Belvosia borealis Aldrich, 1928 syn. n.; Belvosia weyenberghiana (Wulp, 1883) = Belvosia fuliginosa (Walker, 1853) syn. n.; Belvosia brasiliensis Townsend, 1927 = Belvosia fuliginosa (Walker, 1853) syn. n.; Belvosia luteola Coquillett, 1900 = Belvosia ochriventris (Wulp, 1890) syn. n.; Belvosia socia (Walker, 1853) = Belvosia proxima (Walker, 1853) syn. n.; Belvosia chrysopyga (Bigot, 1887) = Belvosia unifasciata (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830) syn. n.; Belvosia chrysopygata (Bigot, 1888) = Belvosia unifasciata (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830) syn. n. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cette étude avait pour objectif d'estimer le moment des rechutes, la prévalence des rechutes multiples et les facteurs prédictifs de rechute dans l'artérite à cellules géantes (ACG). Une recherche a été effectuée dans les bases de données PubMed, Embase et Cochrane, depuis leur création jusqu'au 30 novembre 2021. Les critères d'évaluation comprennent le taux cumulé de rechute (TCR) pour la première rechute après 1, 2 et 5 ans de traitement, le TCR de deuxième et troisième rechute et les facteurs prédictifs de rechute. Trente études (2 595 patients) ont été incluses pour l'évaluation du moment de la rechute, 16 études (1 947 patients) pour la prévalence des rechutes multiples et 40 études (4213 patients) pour les facteurs prédictifs de rechute. Les TCR à 1, 2 et 5 ans étaient respectivement de 32 % (intervalle de confiance [IC] à 95 % 22–43 %), 44 % (IC 95 % 31–59 %) et 47 % (IC 95 % 27–67 %). Une association négative a été observée entre la durée prévue de la corticothérapie et le TCR à 1 an (p = 0,03). Le TCR de deuxième et troisième rechute était de 30 % (IC 95 % 21–40 %) et 17 % (IC 95 % 8–33 %), respectivement. Le sexe féminin (odds ratio [OR] 1,43) et l'atteinte des gros vaisseaux (OR 2,04) étaient des facteurs prédictifs de rechute. Près de la moitié des patients atteints d'ACG ont rechuté, la plupart dans les deux années suivant le diagnostic. Un patient sur trois a fait des rechutes multiples. De nouvelles études doivent être menées pour déterminer le calendrier optimal de réduction des glucocorticoïdes afin de parvenir à l'équilibre entre le plus faible risque de rechute et la plus courte durée de corticothérapie. Une corticothérapie prolongée ou l'introduction précoce d'agents d'épargne cortisonique peuvent être justifiées chez les femmes et en cas d'atteinte des gros vaisseaux. The aim of this study was to estimate the timing of relapse, the prevalence of multiple relapses and the predictors of relapse in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA). PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases were searched from inception till November, 30 2021. Outcome measures include cumulative relapse rate (CRR) of first relapse at year 1, 2, and 5 after treatment initiation, CRR of second and third relapse and predictors of relapse. Thirty studies (2595 patients) were included for timing of relapse, 16 studies (1947 patients) for prevalence of multiple relapses and 40 studies (4213 patients) for predictors of relapse. One-year, 2-year and 5-year CRRs were 32% [95% confidence interval (CI) 22–43%], 44% [95% CI 31–59%], and 47% [95% CI 27–67%], respectively. The duration of scheduled glucocorticoid therapy was negatively associated with the 1-year CRR (p = 0.03). CRR of second and third relapse were 30% [95% CI 21–40] and 17% [95% CI 8–33%], respectively. Female sex (OR 1.43) and large vessel involvement (OR 2.04) were predictors of relapse. Relapse occurred in almost half of GCA patients mainly during the first two years after diagnosis. One in three patients had multiple relapses. The optimal glucocorticoid tapering schedule, which seeks a balance between the lowest relapse risk and the shortest glucocorticoid duration, needs to be determined in future studies. Longer scheduled glucocorticoid therapy or early introduction of glucocorticoid-sparing agents may be warranted in female patients and patients with large vessel involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In recent years, cosplay has gained global visibility as a performing art in which fans dress up as fictional characters from anime, comics/manga, or games. Although scholars contend that cosplay exemplifies gender performativity and may even offer a new heuristic for understanding social interactions in general, they rarely examine how gender is performed in cosplay. Taking together the production of culture perspective and interactionist theories of gender, I detail how cosplay participants project gendered sensibilities through conventionalized body movements and modifications. Contrary to the prevailing focus on individual cosplayers, I demonstrate how makeup artists, photographers, and photo editors all contribute to the success of gender play in cosplay. Contrary to simplistic accounts of donning hyper-masculinity/hyper-femininity, I argue that cosplay participants’ pursuit of authenticity makes singular orientation to sex category insufficient and demands a version of masculinity/femininity that also attends to the character’s personality. Situated in the art worlds of cosplay’s production and evaluation, my findings invite scholars to consider the collaboration between cosplayers and their supporting crew as a conceptual heuristic that attunes our attention to the collective accomplishment of gender embodiment, whose multi-authorship is often obscured.

In 2021, the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), the Infectious Diseases Society of America in conjunction with the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (IDSA/SHEA), and the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) published updated clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for the management of Clostridioides difficile infections. The differences, sometimes subtle, between these guideline recommendations have caused some debate among clinicians. This paper delves into select key recommendations from each respective CPG and analyzes the differences and evidence associated with each. One primary difference between the CPGs is the preference given to fidaxomicin over vancomycin for initial treatment in non-severe and severe disease endorsed by IDSA/SHEA and ESCMID guidelines, while the ACG-sponsored CPGs do not offer a preference. The emphasis on cost effective data was also a noticeable difference between the CPGs and thus interpretation of the available evidence. When using guidelines to help support local practice or institutional treatment pathways, clinicians should carefully balance CPG recommendations with local patient populations and feasibility of implementation, especially when multiple guidelines for the same disease state exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, cosplay has gained global visibility as a performing art in which fans dress up as fictional characters from anime, comics/manga, or games. Although scholars contend that cosplay exemplifies gender performativity and may even offer a new heuristic for understanding social interactions in general, they rarely examine how gender is performed in cosplay. Taking together the production of culture perspective and interactionist theories of gender, I detail how cosplay participants project gendered sensibilities through conventionalized body movements and modifications. Contrary to the prevailing focus on individual cosplayers, I demonstrate how makeup artists, photographers, and photo editors all contribute to the success of gender play in cosplay. Contrary to simplistic accounts of donning hyper-masculinity/hyper-femininity, I argue that cosplay participants' pursuit of authenticity makes singular orientation to sex category insufficient and demands a version of masculinity/femininity that also attends to the character's personality. Situated in the art worlds of cosplay's production and evaluation, my findings invite scholars to consider the collaboration between cosplayers and their supporting crew as a conceptual heuristic that attunes our attention to the collective accomplishment of gender embodiment, whose multi-authorship is often obscured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been an increase in surgical interventions in frailer elderly with concomitant chronic diseases. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the impact of aging and comorbidities on outcomes in patients who underwent surgery for the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) in Veneto Region (Northeastern Italy). This is a retrospective cohort study in patients ≥ 40 years who underwent elective or urgent CRC surgical resection between January 2013 and December 2015. Independent variables included: age, sex, and comorbidities. We analyzed variables associated with the surgical procedure, such as stoma creation, hospitalization during the year before the index surgery, the surgical approach used, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, and the Charlson Comorbidity Index score. Eight thousand four hundred and forty-seven patients with CRC underwent surgical resection. Patient age affected both pre- and post-resection LOS as well as the overall survival (OS); however, it did not affect the 30-day readmission and reoperation rates. Multivariate analysis showed that age represented a risk factor for longer preoperative and postoperative LOS as well as for 30-day and 365-day mortality, but it was not associated with an increased risk of 30-day reoperation and 30-day readmission. Chronic Heart Failure increased the 30-day mortality risk by four times, the preoperative LOS by 51%, and the postoperative LOS by 33%. Chronic renal failure was associated with a 74% higher 30-day readmission rate. Advanced age and comorbidities require a careful preoperative evaluation and appropriate perioperative management to improve surgical outcomes in older patients undergoing elective or urgent CRC resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing studies on Lu Yang have largely sidelined his engagement with Japanese anime, comics, and gaming (ACG) culture, despite the artist having frequently reiterated the significance of ACG to his upbringing and practice. Nor have they extensively explored what, if anything, is particularly Chinese about Lu's work. This article argues that it is precisely Lu's appropriation of ACG's visual aesthetic and symbolic language that firmly positions the artist within twenty-first century Chinese youth culture. Focusing on The Beast (2012)—Lu's tribute to the cult classic anime Neon Genesis Evangelion—I adopt an interdisciplinary approach synthesizing otaku research, fandom studies, Chinese socio-economic analyses and institutional critique to contextualize Lu's practice within the socio-historical nexus of Sino–Japanese transcultural exchange and the global network of contemporary art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The golden berry Physalis peruviana native to the inter-Andean valleys of South America, is currently one of the most relevant exotic fruits for Colombia, its demand for export seeks to possess ideal traits of yield and fruit quality. The objective is to determine the genetic parameters of Combinatory Aptitude of nine inbred lines of Uchuva under conditions of the Andean natural region of the department of Nariño. 36 hybrids of cape gooseberry obtained from nine inbred lines 12U347, 12U350, 12U352, 12U357, 12U360, 12U368, 12U374, 12U377, and 12U39, in four localities of the department of Nariño: Gualmatán, Puerres, Pasto, and Ipiales, in order to determine the effects of general (GCA) and specific (SCA) combining ability on performance. The commercial yield (CY) and the agronomic yield (AY) are evaluated in a dialellic under method IV of Griffing (1956). The combined analysis of variation indicates significant differences in the genotype-environment interaction for CY and AY across all localities. The Combinatorial Aptitude analysis reported that additive and nonadditive effects are important in AY and CY. The best hybrids in Gualmatán were 7x8, 3x5 and 3x7, in Ipiales 2x9, 1x3 and 4x8, in Pasto 1x7, 1x3 and 7x8, and in Puerres 2x5, 2x8 and 2x3, which can be taken into account to be used as commercial hybrids high yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background We revise the genus Metaplagia Coquillett, 1895 and describe five new species from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica. All new species were reared from an ongoing inventory of wild-caught caterpillars spanning a variety of species within the family Sphingidae (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). Our study provides a concise description of each new species using morphology, life history, molecular data and photographic documentation. In addition to the new species, the authors provide a redescription of the genus and a revised key to the species of Metaplagia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although current computer-aided software engineering tools support developers in composing a program, there is no doubt that more flexible supportive tools are needed to address the increases in the complexity of programs. This need can be met by automating the intellectual activities that are carried out by humans when composing a program. This paper aims to automate the composition of a programming language code from pseudocode, which is viewed here as a translation process for a natural language text, as pseudocode is a formatted text in natural English language. Based on this view, a new automatic code generator is developed that can convert pseudocode to C# programming language code. This new automatic code generator (ACG), which is called CodeComposer, uses natural language processing (NLP) techniques such as verb classification, thematic roles, and semantic role labeling (SRL) to analyze the pseudocode. The resulting analysis of linguistic information from these techniques is used by a semantic rule-based mapping machine to perform the composition process. CodeComposer can be viewed as an intelligent computer-aided software engineering (I_CASE) tool. An evaluation of the accuracy of CodeComposer using a binomial technique shows that it has a precision of 88%, a recall of 91%, and an F-measure of 89%.

In 2021, the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), the Infectious Diseases Society of America in conjunction with the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (IDSA/SHEA), and the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) published updated clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for the management of Clostridioides difficile infections. The differences, sometimes subtle, between these guideline recommendations have caused some debate among clinicians. This paper delves into select key recommendations from each respective CPG and analyzes the differences and evidence associated with each. One primary difference between the CPGs is the preference given to fidaxomicin over vancomycin for initial treatment in non-severe and severe disease endorsed by IDSA/SHEA and ESCMID guidelines, while the ACG-sponsored CPGs do not offer a preference. The emphasis on cost effective data was also a noticeable difference between the CPGs and thus interpretation of the available evidence. When using guidelines to help support local practice or institutional treatment pathways, clinicians should carefully balance CPG recommendations with local patient populations and feasibility of implementation, especially when multiple guidelines for the same disease state exist.

Background: We describe 25 new species in the genus Telothyria van der Wulp, 1890 from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica. All species herein described were reared from an ongoing inventory of wild-caught caterpillars spanning two families (Lepidoptera: Crambidae, and Tortricidae). Our study provides a concise description of each new species using morphology, life history, molecular data, and photographic documentation; a redescription of the genus, and its type species as well as a revised key to species of Telothyria occurring in the Mesoamerican region. We also suggest seven new synonymies resulting in 11 new combinations. New information: The following 25 new species of Telothyria are described: T. aidani sp. n., T. alexanderi sp. n., T. auranticrus sp. n., T. auriolus sp. n., T. bicuspidata sp. n., T. carolinacanoae sp. n., T. clavata sp. n., T. cristata sp. n., T. diniamartinezae sp. n., T. duniagarciae sp. n., T. duvalierbricenoi sp. n., T. eldaarayae sp. n., T. erythropyga sp. n., T. fimbriata sp. n., T. fulgida sp. n., T. gloriashihezarae sp. n., T. grisea sp. n., T. harryramirezi sp. n., T. incisa sp. n., T. manuelpereirai sp. n., T. obscura sp. n., T. omissa sp. n., T. osvaldoespinozai sp. n., T. peltata sp. n., and T. ricardocaleroi sp. n. The following are proposed by Fleming & Wood as new generic synonyms of Telothyria: Comatacta Coquillett Syn. n., Floradalia Thompson Syn. n., Ptilomyia Curran Syn. n., Ptilomyiopsis Townsend Syn. n., Ptilomyoides Curran Syn. n., Euptilomyia Syn. n., Eutelothyria Townsend Syn. n. The following new combinations are proposed as a result of the new synonymies: Telothyria bequaerti (Curran, 1925) Comb. n., Telothyria cruenta (Giglio-Tos, 1893) Comb. n., Telothyria frontalis (Townsend, 1939) Comb. n., Telothyria insularis (Curran, 1927) Comb. n., Telothyria itaquaquecetubae (Townsend, 1931) Comb. n., Telothyria major (Thompson, 1963) Comb. n., Telothyria micropalpus (Curran, 1925) Comb. n., Telothyria minor (Thompson, 1963) Comb. n., Telothyria nautlana (Townsend, 1908) Comb. n., Telothyria plumata (Curran, 1925) Comb. n., Telothyria trinitatis (Thompson, 1963) Comb. n., Telothyria variegata (Fabricius, 1805) Comb. n. Musca tricincta Fabricius is synonymized under Telothyria variegata Fabricius, Syn. n. Telothyria schineri Fleming & Wood nom. n. is proposed as a replacement name for Miltogramma brevipennis Schiner. Additionally we provide redescriptions of two previously named species: the type species Telothyria cupreiventris (van der Wulp) due to its being the type species, and Telothyria relicta (van der Wulp) due to its having been reared as an outcome of the inventory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the adoption of Japanese by users from a popular Chinese video-sharing website, bilibili.com. Over a two-month period, 5,808 instances of language use that involve Japanese language features were sampled from 28,579 video comments. It was found that features of Japanese were often utilized – either entirely in Japanese written script, or as part of Chinese expressions – for various communicative functions such as descriptors and honorifics. The analysis suggests that online communication on the Chinese website bilibili.com is linguistically and symbolically hybrid with Japanese language features and other semiotic signs often mixed with Chinese texts. The involved communicative practices reflect the Bakhtinian notion of heteroglossia characterized with creativity and playfulness. The study further deconstructs the structuralist view of multilingualism (as discussed in) and extends the discussion of linguistic resources beyond discrete linguistic "codes" and traditional notion of language proficiency in digital discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although current computer-aided software engineering tools support developers in composing a program, there is no doubt that more flexible supportive tools are needed to address the increases in the complexity of programs. This need can be met by automating the intellectual activities that are carried out by humans when composing a program. This paper aims to automate the composition of a programming language code from pseudocode, which is viewed here as a translation process for a natural language text, as pseudocode is a formatted text in natural English language. Based on this view, a new automatic code generator is developed that can convert pseudocode to C# programming language code. This new automatic code generator (ACG), which is called CodeComposer, uses natural language processing (NLP) techniques such as verb classification, thematic roles, and semantic role labeling (SRL) to analyze the pseudocode. The resulting analysis of linguistic information from these techniques is used by a semantic rule-based mapping machine to perform the composition process. CodeComposer can be viewed as an intelligent computer-aided software engineering (I_CASE) tool. An evaluation of the accuracy of CodeComposer using a binomial technique shows that it has a precision of 88%, a recall of 91%, and an F-measure of 89%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyze the distribution of visual field (VF) mean defect (MD) in six subgroups of glaucoma patients at baseline and follow-up., Methods: We assessed glaucoma patients treated in a Spanish tertiary care setting with a follow-up of at least 10 months. We have included 1036 visual fields and the following glaucoma subtypes: open-Angle Glaucoma (OAG); Angle-Closure Glaucoma (ACG); Congenital Glaucoma (CG); Ocular hypertension (OHT); Pseudoexfoliative Glaucoma (PSXG); Pigmentary Glaucoma (PG). We have calculated the baseline MD and the progression MD. We have stratified the MD progression in slow (MD rate > -0.5 dB/year); moderate (MD rate between -0.5 and -1 dB/year) fast (MD rate between -1 and -2 dB/year) and catastrophic (<-2 dB/year) progression and their glaucoma subtype., Results: The glaucoma types with the worse baseline MD were CG and PG. We found significant differences after comparing the baseline MD of CG and OAG, ACG, OHT and between PG and OHT. Concerning the MD progression rate: OAG 73.54% showed slow MD progression rate; 9.85% fast; 7.3% moderate and 9.3% catastrophic. ACG 82.22% slow; 8.89% moderate; 2.22% fast and 6.67% catastrophic. CG 68.83% slow; 9.09% fast; 7.79% moderate and 14.29% catastrophic. OHT 88.6% slow; 6.14% moderate; 4.39% fast and 0.88% catastrophic. PSXG 63.24% slow, 13.24% moderate; 8.8% fast and 14.7% catastrophic. PG 89.29% slow; 3.57% moderate and 7.1% fast., Conclusions: The CG requires special attention because of its aggressive presentation and progression., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Purpose: Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a widely recognized condition associated with comorbidity and decreased patient quality of life. Certain professional medical organizations develop clinical practice guidelines for major diseases. This is done in an effort to streamline the universal clinical practice and ensure that a more accurate diagnosis and better treatments are offered to respective patients for optimal outcomes. However, as new data evolve, constant update of these guidelines becomes essential. While these guidelines provide up-to-date recommendations, they are not published around the same time; thus, their recommendations may vary depending on evidence available prior to guidelines preparation and publication. Methods: Recommendations and corresponding justifications from three major CDI guidelines between 2013 and 2017 were pooled and compared, and notable differences were highlighted while providing an insight and a final recommendation from a clinical standpoint. Results: Most recommendations were consistent among all three guidelines. One notable difference was in the specification of candidates for CDI diagnosis, where it would be recommended to mainly test patients with three or more diarrheal episodes over 24 h, if they had no other clear reason for the diarrhea. Another conflicting point was regarding the treatment of non-severe CDI where vancomycin can be considered for older or sicker patients; however, metronidazole still remains a reasonable option based on recent data, some of which were not cited in the most recent guidelines of IDSA/SHEA. Conclusion: Overall, it is prudent to follow these guidelines with critical appraisal to fulfill the goal of achieving optimum patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weak and q-weak variationalmeasures defined by Brian S. Thomson [OnVBG functions and the Denjoy-Khintchine integral, RealAnalysis Exchange, 41(1) (2015/16), 173-226] are shown to coincide with variational measures resulting from Riemann definitions of some wide Denjoy type integrals. This fact is applied in characterizations of these integrals, via absolute continuity of weak and q-weak measures. In related results, it is discussed if these Riemann definitions can be essentially simplified. The paper is a follow-up to a paper by the author published some time ago in the Rendiconti. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background We describe 22 new species in the genus Hyphantrophaga Townsend, 1892 (Diptera: Tachinidae) from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in north-western Costa Rica. All species were reared from an ongoing inventory of wild-caught caterpillars spanning a variety of families (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae, Crambidae, Depressariidae, Doidae, Erebidae, Euteliidae, Gelechiidae, Geometridae, Hedylidae, Hesperiidae, Immidae, Lasiocampidae, Limacodidae, Megalopygidae, Mimaloniidae, Noctuidae, Nolidae, Notodontidae, Nymphalidae, Papilionidae, Pieridae, Phiditiidae, Pterophoridae, Pyralidae, Riodinidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Thyrididae, Tortricidae and Zygaenidae). We provide a morphological description of each species together with information on life history, molecular data and photographic documentation. In addition to the new species, we provide a redescription of the genus, as well as the redescription of three previously described species, which were also collected within ACG during this study: Hyphantrophaga angustata (van der Wulp), Hyphantrophaga myersi (Aldrich) and Hyphantrophaga virilis (Aldrich & Webber). New information The following 22 new species of Hyphantrophaga are described: Hyphantrophaga adrianguadamuzi Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga albopilosa Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga anacordobae Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga calixtomoragai Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga calva Fleming & Wood sp. n.., Hyphantrophaga ciriloumanai Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga danausophaga Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga diniamartinezae Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga duniagarciae Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga edwinapui Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga eldaarayae Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga eliethcantillanoe Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga gilberthampiei Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga guillermopereirai Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga hazelcambroneroae Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga luciariosae Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga manuelriosi Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga morphophaga Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga nigricauda Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga osvaldoespinozai Fleming & Wood sp. n., Hyphantrophaga pabloumanai Fleming & Wood sp. n. and Hyphantrophaga similis Fleming & Wood sp. n. The following are proposed by Wood as new synonyms of Hyphantrophaga Townsend, 1892: Brachymasicera Townsend, 1911 syn. n., Ommasicera Townsend, 1911 syn. n., Ophirosturmia Townsend, 1911 syn. n., Patillalia Curran, 1934 syn. n. and Ypophaemyiops Townsend, 1935 syn. n. The following nine new combinations are proposed as a result of the new synonymies: Hyphantrophaga adamsoni (Thompson, 1963), comb. n., Hyphantrophaga fasciata (Curran, 1934), comb. n., Hyphantrophaga glauca (Giglio-Tos, 1893), comb. n., Hyphantrophaga gowdeyi (Curran, 1926), comb. n., Hyphantrophaga myersi (Aldrich, 1933), comb. n., Hyphantrophaga nigripes (Townsend, 1928), comb. n., Hyphantrophaga optica (Schiner, 1868), comb. n., Hyphantrophaga polita (Townsend, 1911), comb. n., Hyphantrophaga subpolita (Townsend, 1912), comb. n. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En el año 2010-2011 en el Centro de Investigaciones Fitoecogenéticas de Pairumani (CIFP) en Cochabamba-Bolivia, se cruzaron ocho líneas parentales de arveja bajo el diseño dialélico Griffing IV, con el objetivo de determinar las bases genéticas que condicionan el número de vainas por nudo, la relaciones genéticas con caracteres afines y las líneas que posean genes favorables para incrementar el número de vainas por nudo. Las progenies F1 evaluadas de acuerdo al diseño experimental de filas y columnas incompletas con cuatro repeticiones, indican que el número de vainas/nudo está condicionado por efectos aditivos y de dominancia; sin embargo, los efectos aditivos fueron de mayor importancia con una heredabilidad en sentido estrecho moderado (0.49). Por otro lado, el número de vainas/nudo está alta y positivamente correlacionada con el número de vainas/planta y densidad de grano, en las cuales los efectos aditivos fueron de mayor importancia y heredabilidades en sentido estrecho de 0.72 y 0.36, respectivamente. El número de vainas/nudo está alta y negativamente correlacionada con días a floración, días a madurez en verde, largo de vaina, ancho de vaina, peso de grano, altura de planta y altura a la primera vaina, en las cuales excepto en altura de planta y altura a la primera vaina, los efectos aditivos fueron de mayor importancia, con una heredabilidad en sentido estrecho entre 0.19 y 0.81. Para desarrollar variedades con mayor número de vainas por nudo se puede optar por desarrollar variedades con vainas a menor altura, de granos más pequeños y con vainas más delgadas; o variedades con más días a madurez en verde, de granos menos densos, pedúnculo corto y vainas cortas. Las líneas M-2, calle-calle, Pairumani-1, PH-91-3 poseen genes favorables para desarrollar variedades con mayor número de vainas por nudo y por ende mayor cantidad de vainas por planta, pero con vainas pequeñas y delgadas, y de ciclo corto, además de mayor cantidad de granos por vaina y granos más densos. Pairumani-3, Lincoln, Snap Pea e INIAP-433 poseen genes favorables para desarrollar variedades con menor número de vainas por nudo, pero con vainas largas y anchas, con mayor peso de grano, mayor altura planta y con mayor altura a la primera vaina.

Background We describe a new species in the genus Voria Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (Diptera: Tachinidae: Voriini) from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica. It was reared as part of an ongoing inventory of wild-caught caterpillars spanning a variety of moth and butterfly families (Lepidoptera). Our study provides a concise description of the new species using morphology, life history, molecular data, and photographic documentation. In addition to the new species, we provide a diagnosis of the genus as well as new data relating to host use. New information The following new species of Voria is described: Voria erasmocoronadoi Fleming & Wood sp. n. The following are proposed by Fleming & Wood as new synonyms of Voria: Xenoplagia Townsend, 1914 syn. n., Hystricovoria Townsend, 1928 syn. n., Afrovoria Curran, 1938 syn. n., and Anavoria Mesnil, 1953 syn. n., and Itavoria Townsend, 1931 syn. n. The following new combinations are proposed as a result of the new synonymies: Voria bakeri (Townsend, 1928), comb. n. and Voria setosa (Townsend, 1914), comb. n. The authors also propose Voria pollyclari (Rocha-e-Silva, Lopes & Della Lucia, 1999), comb. n. based on the morphology of the holotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA sequencing brings another dimension to exploration of biodiversity, and large-scale mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I barcoding has exposed many potential new cryptic species. Here, we add complete nuclear genome sequencing to DNA barcoding, ecological distribution, natural history, and subtleties of adult color pattern and size to show that a widespread neotropical skipper butterfly known as Udranomia kikkawai (Weeks) comprises three different species in Costa Rica. Full-length barcodes obtained from all three century-old Venezuelan syntypes of U. kikkawai show that it is a rainforest species occurring from Costa Rica to Brazil. The two new species are Udranomia sallydaleyae Burns, a dry forest denizen occurring from Costa Rica to Mexico, and Udranomia tomdaleyi Burns, which occupies the junction between the rainforest and dry forest and currently is known only from Costa Rica. Whereas the three species are cryptic, differing but slightly in appearance, their complete nuclear genomes totaling 15 million aligned positions reveal significant differences consistent with their 0.00065-Mbp (million base pair) mitochondrial barcodes and their ecological diversification. DNA barcoding of tropical insects reared by a massive inventory suggests that the presence of cryptic species is a widespread phenomenon and that further studies will substantially increase current estimates of insect species richness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background We describe nine new species in the genus Uramya Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica. All species were reared from an ongoing inventory of wild-caught caterpillars spanning a variety of families (Lepidoptera: Erebidae; Limacodidae; Megalopygidae; Lasiocampidae and Dalceridae). Our study provides a concise description of each new species using morphology, life history, molecular data, and photographic documentation. In addition to the new species the authors provide a redescription the previously described Uramya sibinivora Guimarães, which was also collected within ACG during this study. We also provide a redescription of the genus, and a revised key to species of Uramya occurring in Central and South America. New information The following nine new species of Uramya, all authored by Fleming & Wood, are described: Uramya albosetulosa Fleming & Wood sp. nov., Uramya constricta Fleming & Wood sp. nov., Uramya contraria Fleming & Wood sp. nov., Uramya infracta Fleming & Wood sp. nov., Uramya lativittata Fleming & Wood sp. nov., Uramya lunula Fleming & Wood sp. nov., Uramya nitida Fleming & Wood sp. nov., Uramya pannosa Fleming & Wood sp. nov., and Uramya penicillata Fleming & Wood sp. nov. The following are proposed by Wood as new synonyms of Uramya: Olinda Townsend, syn. nov. and Procleonice Townsend, syn. nov. The following new combination is proposed as a result of the new synonymies: Uramya brasiliensis Macquart, comb. nov. Procleonice prolixa Townsend is synonymized under Uramya brevicauda Curran, syn. nov. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The asphalt mixtures are composed of aggregates and asphalt used in the construction of the majority of roads. In order to ensure the sustainability of the infrastructures, the evaluation of the quality and the performances of these materials are essential. In this context, several researches have been focused on the development of predictive models, often empirical ones, in order to deduce the viscoelastic properties of an asphalt mixture based on the properties of its constituents (binder and/or aggregate). In this context, we suggest a homogenization model based on the generalized self-consistent scheme (GSC) to predict the complex module of the asphalt concrete from the properties of its components. In the aim of the approach validation, different types of mixtures (hot and warm) made in the laboratory were tested. The results showed that one can predict the complex modulus of the different types of asphalt concretes for temperatures less than 20 °C. However, beyond this temperature, the precision of the model decreases. Besides, the comparison of the micromechanical model with the rheologic models in literature showed that the suggested model can be also relevant in terms of predictions as the considered models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El objetivo del presente estudio fue determinar la aptitud combinatoria, la heterosis e indentificar las mejores cruzas simples de maíz. En el 2006, se formaron 144 cruzas simples provenientes de la cruza entre 24 líneas endogámicas, de las cuales 12 se utilizaron como hembras y 12 como machos. Las cuales se evaluaron bajo un diseño de bloques al azar con dos repeticiones, en el ciclo P-V en el 2007 en Torreón, Coahuila y en el ejido El Niágara en Aguascalientes, México. Las variables evaluadas fueron rendimiento de grano, sus componentes y la floración masculina, los análisis se realizaron con el diseño de apareamiento genético de Carolina del Norte II. Los progenitores machos L-AN 447 y LB-40 y, las hembras CML-313 y CML-278 formaron los híbridos con mayor rendimiento de grano, presentando los más altos efectos de ACG las líneas L-AN 44, CML-264 (machos), CML-313, CML-273 y CML-321 (hembras). La mayor aptitud combinatoria específica para rendimiento de grano se observo en las cruzas L-AN 360PV x CML-311, LB-40 x BANDA, L-AN 447 x CML-278, LB-39 x CML-314, CML-319 x CML-273 y CML-264 x CML-321. En tanto que las cruzas L-AN 360 PV x CML-311 y LB-40 x BANDA tuvieron heterosis del 21 %.

Progress in the medical diagnostic is relentlessly pushing the measurement technology as well with its intertwined mathematical models and solutions. Mathematics has applications to many problems that are vital to human health but not for all. In this article we describe how the mathematics of acoustocerebrography has become one of the most important applications of mathematics to the problems of brain monitoring as well we will show some algebraic problems which still have to be solved. Acoustocerebrography ([4, 1]) is a set of techniques of visualizing the state of (human) brain tissue and its changes with use of ultrasounds, which mainly rely on a relation between the tissue density and speed of propagation for ultrasound waves in this medium. Propagation speed or, equivalently, times of arriving for an ultrasound pulse, can be inferred from phase relations for various frequencies. Since, due to Kramers-Kronig relations, the propagation speeds depend significantly on the frequency of investigated waves, we P consider multispectral wave packages of the form W(n) = Σh=1H Ah · sin (2π · fh · n/F + ψh), n = 0,...,N - 1 ; with appropriately chosen frequencies fh,h = 1,...,H, amplifications Ah; h = 1;...,H, start phases ψh, h = 1,...,H, and sampling frequency F. In this paper we show some problems of algebraic and, to some extend, algorithmic nature which raise up in this topic. Like, for instance, the influence of relations between the signal length and frequency values on the error on estimated phases or on neutralizing alien frequencies. Another problem is finding appropriate initial phases for avoiding improper distributions of peaks in the resulting signal or finding a stable algorithm of phase unwinding which is resistant to sudden random disruptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]