Biomorphometry of Automeris liberia Cramer (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) in oil palm in the Amazon

Automeris liberia Cramer are found in South America, with documented sightings in Ecuador, Peru, some regions of Mexico and, more recently, the Brazilian Amazon. These moths cause damage to several plant species. We designed an experiment to study the biology and morphometry of A. liberia in the laboratory and provide information for the management of the pest in oil palm cultivation in the Brazilian Amazon. Caterpillars for rearing were collected from commercial areas of oil palm cultivation, where they cause defoliation of the plant. They were fed a natural diet of oil palm leaves of the Tenera variety and observed from second generation onwards. Sex, behavior, posture, mass, body length, wingspan, body diameter, sex ratio, average growth ratio, and antenna were quantified. The embryonic stage lasted 14 days, followed by seven larval instar stages over 36 days. The pupal stage lasted 21 days. Adults had a longevity of 4.5 and 6 days and a total biological cycle of 78.5 and 80 days, for males and females, respectively. The growth ratio was 1.49. The antennae showed sexual dimorphism, with bipectinate morphology in males and filiform in females. In the adult stage, morphological variables were evaluated (body length, thoracic diameter, wingspan, forewing length, forewing height, hindwing length, hindwing height, antenna length, number of antennomeres, and body mass), and they showed significant differences between males and females (Newman-Keuls test, P < 0.05).

Information disclosing willingness in mobile internet contexts

Purpose This paper aims to learn about consumers’ information disclosing patterns in the mobile internet context by investigating how demographic, geographic and psychological factors influence their information disclosing willingness (IDW).Design/methodology/approach Drawing on self-disclosure theory, the authors carried out simple linear regression analyses on a Chinese sample of 10,000 participants.Findings The results revealed that significant gender differences exist between males and females in their IDW in mobile internet context, and females have higher IDW than males do. And the authors also found that first-tier (third tier) citizens have the lowest (highest) IDW in their mobile internet usage.Originality/value This study offers three implications. First, this paper captures the insight of IDW within the mobile internet context, while previous studies mostly focus on the desktop internet context. Second, the results show that females have higher willingness to disclose than males do in the context of mobile internet, which is different from the findings of prior studies that females have higher privacy concerns and lower disclosing willingness in the context of desktop internet. Thirdly, this research introduces city tiers as a new approach to the study of IDW, which is one of the first studies exploring the geographical effect on information privacy.

Four new species of the primitively segmented spider genus Songthela (Mesothelae, Liphistiidae) from Chongqing Municipality, China

This paper reports four new species of the primitively segmented spider genus Songthela from Chongqing Municipality, China, based on morphological characters of both males and females: S. jinyun sp. nov., S. longbao sp. nov., S. serriformis sp. nov. and S. wangerbao sp. nov. We also provide the GenBank accession codes of mitochondrial DNA barcode gene, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), for the holotype of four new species for future identification.

Hand Preference and Creativity of Papua University Student

Human has a preference to use their hands for various manual activities. Left-handed preference is people who tend to use their left hand to perform various manual activities, while right-handed people tend to use right-handed. Any researches show that the left-handed preference for more creativity was influenced by the dominant use of the right brain and bigger corpus callosum. The research aims to determine the percentage of left-handed preference and their creativity in Universitas Papua, Manokwari Papua Barat. The method used in this research is the descriptive method. Data collection used a questionnaire to evaluate individual hand preference using Handedness Questionnaire and to determine individual creativity using Adjective Check List. The percentage of left-handed people in UNIPA were 9.3% or lower than right-handed and higher than ambidextrous. Our study supports the statement about selection in handedness in the traditional society which showed a higher percentage of left-hander as advantages related to using hand intensively. The percentage of left-handed males and females was almost equal and strongly left-handed was higher in females. The percentage of creative people was higher in left-handed, especially in males

Hematological and Biochemical Reference Ranges for the Population with Sickle Cell Disease at Steady State in Tanzania

Hematological and biochemical reference values in sickle cell disease (SCD) are crucial for patient management and the evaluation of interventions. This study was conducted at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to establish laboratory reference ranges among children and adults with SCD at steady state. Patients were grouped into five age groups and according to their sex. Aggregate functions were used to handle repeated measurements within the individual level in each age group. A nonparametric approach was used to smooth the curves, and a parametric approach was used to determine SCD normal ranges. Comparison between males and females and against the general population was documented. Data from 4422 patients collected from 2004–2015 were analyzed. The majority of the patients (35.41%) were children aged between 5–11 years. There were no significant differences (p ≥ 0.05) in mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), lymphocytes, basophils, and direct bilirubin observed between males and females. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in all selected parameters across age groups except with neutrophils and MCHC in adults, as well as platelets and alkaline phosphatase in infants when the SCD estimates were compared to the general population. The laboratory reference ranges in SCD at steady state were different from those of the general population and varied with sex and age. The established reference ranges for SCD at steady state will be helpful in the management and monitoring of the progress of SCD.

Study of HbA1c & microalbumin in urine in patients of metabolic syndrome

We aimed to provide correlation of HbA1c & Microalbumin in urine in patients of metabolic syndrome.: 100 patients coming to OPD of Medicine department in Shri Mahant Indresh Hospital. Plasma samples taken for Hba1c and urine for microalbumin and run on VITROS 5600/7600 and reported for Hba1c & microalbumin. : 51 were males and 49 were females out of 100 total patients. For males age mean & SD was 55.84±13.52 & for females was 57.56±10.08.For raised and unraised HbA1c 10.42±+9.628 & 5.066±.0.216 for raised and unraised microalbumin 412.±1133 & 11.97±7.129.When we compared both HbA1c and microalbumin in both males and females then mean and SD came out to for HbA1C for males 8.56±2.663 and females were 11.62±12.86 with t value 2.327 and p value 0.021 that states it was significant. And for micralbumin for male 391.5±1184 & for females 60.37±116.6 t value was 2.7832 and p value was 0.0059 it also states it was significant. Therefore both the parameters were significant in patients of metabolic syndrome.

Keratometry using hand-held and automated keratometers with and without speculum in Indian pediatric cataract – A comparative study

To study the keratometry of Indian pediatric eyes, the effect of speculum on keratometry reading, the concordance of hand held and automated keratometry and the effect of unilateral and bilateral cataract on keratometry and IOL power calculation. This was conducted as a cross- sectional observational study on 101 eyes of children in the age range of 41 post-conceptional weeks to 144 months. All cooperative patients were subject to automated keratometry followed by keratometry using hand held keratometer with and without speculum. Hand held keratometer with and without speculum documented significantly increased average K as well as astigmatism and decreased calculated IOL power when compared to automated keratometry (p&#60;0.01). No significant difference in K readings was observed between unilateral and bilateral cataracts and among males and females (p&#62;0.05). As the age increased, astigmatism increased significantly (R=0.07; p=0.007) whereas no such correlation was observed for keratometry (p&#62;0.05). Hand held keratometry offers the convenience of obtaining accurate keratometry, astigmatism and IOL power measurements in children.

Toxicological Indices of Wistar Rats Fed Formulated Chaw of Telfairia occidentalis Planted on Crude Oil Contaminated and Remediated Soil

Toxicological indices of wistar rats fed formulated chaw of Telfairia occidentalis planted on crude oil contaminated and bioremediated soil was studied. Farmland, measuring 18 m2 was divided into three lots of 4 m2 and 2 m space was allowed between each lot (A, B and C). Two lots were polluted, subjected to 16 weeks of bioremediation and viable seeds of T. occidentalis were planted and grown for 28 days. The harvested vegetable leaves were analyzed. Leaves from natural attenuated soil showed high concentration of both aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with values of 9.34+0.03 mg/kg and 9.18+0.05 mg/kg for C36 and Fluoranthene respectively, while the bioaugmented soil had Lead as the highest heavy metal with a value of 0.10+0.02 g/100g. Four groups, of 9 rats each (totalling 36 rats) of adult males and females, wealing males and females were subsequently sub-grouped into 3 and allowed to acclimatize for a period of 1 week. These animals were fed formulated rat chaw of 50% dry weight of T. occidentalis, from the three lots (control, bioaugmented and natural attenuated soil) for a period of 28 days. Assay of animals’ toxicological index showed elevated concentrations of alkaline phosphatase, alanine and aspartate aminotransferases, urea and creatinine in their sera. A slight increase in serum amylase activity was recorded, while concentrations of their haemoglobin and Packed Cell Volume (PCV) reduced. The obtained results from these biomarkers were confirmed by the histopathological sections of the animal organs.

The “Walking Estimated Limitation Stated by History” (WELSH) visual tool is applicable and accurate to determine walking capacity, even in people with low literacy level

Determination of the self-reported walking capacity by interview or standardized questionnaire is important. However, the existing questionnaires require the patient to be able to read and write in a specific language. We recently proposed the WELSH (Walking Estimated Limitation Stated by History) tool to be administrable to illiterate people. The main objective was to assess the applicability of WELSH tool in the community and in a large group. We performed a prospective study in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso during June 2020. We recruited 630 interviewers among medical students. They were trained to administer the WELSH, and to conduct a 6-minute walk test. We performed a Pearson’s “r” correlation between the WELSH and maximal walking distance (MWD). Of the 1723 participants available for the analysis, 757 (43.9%: 41.6–46.3) never went to school or attended only elementary school. The percentage of questionnaires with participant filling-in errors corrected by the investigator decreased with the decrease in educational level (p<0.001). The average WELSH score was 53 ± 22 and the average MWD was 383 ±142 meters. The Spearman correlation coefficient between the WELSH score and the MWD was r = 0.567 (p<0.001). Correlations ranged from 0.291 to 0.576 in males and females, (all p values < 0.05) and in different levels of education, with the highest coefficients found in illiterate people. The WELSH is feasible on the community by a wide variety of interviewers. It correlates with the MWD estimated by the 6-minutes’ walk test even for people with little or no schooling.

Gender and Leg-dominance Differences in Shoe Properties and Foot Injuries in Badminton

Background: While the roles of injury prevention and performance enhancement have increasingly been investigated for badminton footwear, there is a lack of research on gender-specific badminton footwear. The purpose of this study was to examine the gender differences in footwear demands and foot injuries in badminton. Methods: A supervised questionnaire survey of 326 recreational badminton players was collected. The questionnaire was divided into four sections enquiring about the characteristics of (1) participant profiles, (2) importance of shoe properties (3) shoe complaints. (4) and pain or discomfort in different foot regions. The Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test were performed to determine the differences between genders and the differences between leg dominance, respectively. The significance level was set at 0.05.Results: Both males and females rated shoe fit as the most important features, followed by overall comfort, and injury protection. Females considered forefoot cushioning, comfort, breathability and color as the more important compared with other properties, which showed distinct pattern differences from males. The shoe problem results indicated that plantar pain of the non-dominant foot was considered the most commonly reported footwear problem by both males and females. The problem of excessive arch-support on the dominant and non-dominant sides of male participants was significantly higher than females (p < 0.05). Occasional pain or frequent pain were mainly distributed in the forefoot, followed by the rearfoot and midfoot regions.Conclusion: There were small differences in footwear demand between the dominant and non-dominant sides, but several differences existed between females and males. The results from gender differences suggested that female specific shoes prefer a specific better fit, rather than a modified version of male shoes. In the future, the design of badminton shoes should consider footwear demands and foot discomfort profiles in respective male and female badminton players.