Susceptibility of Anopheles campestris-like and Anopheles barbirostris species complexes to Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax in Thailand

Nine colonies of five sibling species members of Anopheles barbirostris complexes were experimentally infected with Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. They were then dissected eight and 14 days after feeding for oocyst and sporozoite rates, respectively, and compared with Anopheles cracens. The results revealed that Anopheles campestris-like Forms E (Chiang Mai) and F (Udon Thani) as well as An. barbirostris species A3 and A4 were non-potential vectors for P. falciparum because 0% oocyst rates were obtained, in comparison to the 86.67-100% oocyst rates recovered from An. cracens. Likewise, An. campestris-like Forms E (Sa Kaeo) and F (Ayuttaya), as well as An. barbirostris species A4, were non-potential vectors for P. vivax because 0% sporozoite rates were obtained, in comparison to the 85.71-92.31% sporozoite rates recovered from An. cracens. An. barbirostris species A1, A2 and A3 were low potential vectors for P. vivax because 9.09%, 6.67% and 11.76% sporozoite rates were obtained, respectively, in comparison to the 85.71-92.31% sporozoite rates recovered from An. cracens. An. campestris-like Forms B and E (Chiang Mai) were high-potential vectors for P. vivax because 66.67% and 64.29% sporozoite rates were obtained, respectively, in comparison to 90% sporozoite rates recovered from An. cracens.

Change in mutation patterns of Plasmodium vivax dihydrofolate reductase (Pvdhfr) and dihydropteroate synthase (Pvdhps) in P. vivax isolates from malaria endemic areas of Thailand

Malaria is the most important public health problem in several countries. In Thailand, co-infections of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum are common. We examined the prevalence and patterns of mutations in P. vivax dihydrofolate reductase (Pvdhfr) and P. vivax dihydropteroate synthase (Pvdhps) in 103 blood samples collected from patients with P. vivax infection who had attended the malaria clinic in Mae Sot, Tak Province during 2009 and 2010. Using nested polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorfism, we examined single nucleotide polymorphisms-haplotypes at amino acid positions 13, 33, 57, 58, 61, 117 and 173 of Pvdhfr and 383 and 553 of Pvdhps. All parasite isolates carried mutant Pvdhfr alleles, of which the most common alleles were triple mutants (99%). Eight different types of Pvdhfr and combination alleles were found, as follows: 57I/58R/117T, 57I/58R/117T, 57I/58R/117T/N, 57L/58R/117T, 57L/58R/117T, 58R/61M/117N, 58R/61M/117N and 13L/57L/58R/117T. The most common Pvdhfr alleles were 57I/58R/117T (77.7%), 57I/58R/117T/N (1%), 57L/58R/117T (5.8%) and 58R/61M/117N (14.5%). The most common Pvdhfr alleles were 57I/58R/117T (77.7%), 57I/58R/117T/N (1%), 57L/58R/117T (5.8%) and 58R/61M/117N (14.5%). Additionally, we recovered one isolate of a carrying a quadruple mutant allele, 13L/57L/58R/117T. The most prevalent Pvdhps allele was a single mutation in amino acid 383 (82.5%), followed by the wild-type A383/A553 (17.5%) allele. Results suggest that all P. vivax isolates in Thailand carry some combination of mutations in Pvdhfr and Pvdhps. Our findings demonstrate that development of new antifolate drugs effective against sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine-resistant P. vivax is required.

Genetic compatibility between Anopheles lesteri from Korea and Anopheles paraliae from Thailand

To assess differentiation and relationships between Anopheles lesteri and Anopheles paraliae we established three and five iso-female lines of An. lesteri from Korea and An. paraliae from Thailand, respectively. These isolines were used to investigate the genetic relationships between the two taxa by crossing experiments and by comparing DNA sequences of ribosomal DNA second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) and mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and subunit II (COII). Results of reciprocal and F1-hybrid crosses between An. lesteri and An. paraliae indicated that they were compatible genetically producing viable progenies and complete synaptic salivary gland polytene chromosomes without inversion loops in all chromosome arms. The pairwise genetic distances of ITS2, COI and COII between these morphological species were 0.040, 0.007-0.017 and 0.008-0.011, respectively. The specific species status of An. paraliae in Thailand and/or other parts of the continent are discussed.

Waiting for chikungunya fever in Argentina: spatio-temporal risk maps

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) transmission has been detected in America in 2013 and recently reached south up to Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay, bordering countries of Argentina. The presence of the mosquito Aedes aegyptiin half of the country together with the regional context drove us to make a rapid assessment of transmission risk. Temperature thresholds for vector breeding and for virus transmission, together with adult activity from the literature, were mapped on a monthly basis to estimate risk. Transmission of chikungunya byAe. aegyptiin the world was seen at monthly mean temperatures from 21-34ºC, with the majority occurring between 26-28ºC. In Argentina temperatures above 21ºC are observed since September in the northeast, expanding south until January and retreating back to the northeast in April. The maximum area under risk encompasses more than half the country and around 32 million inhabitants. Vector adult activity was registered where monthly means temperatures exceeded 13ºC, in the northeast all over the year and in the northern half from September-May. The models herein proposed show that conditions for transmission are already present. Considering the regional context and the historic inability to control dengue in the region, chikungunya fever illness seems unavoidable.

Anopheles darlingi polytene chromosomes: revised maps including newly described inversions and evidence for population structure in Manaus

Salivary gland polytene chromosomes of 4th instar Anopheles darlingi Root were examined from multiple locations in the Brazilian Amazon. Minor modifications were made to existing polytene photomaps. These included changes to the breakpoint positions of several previously described paracentric inversions and descriptions of four new paracentric inversions, two on the right arm of chromosome 3 and two on the left arm of chromosome 3 that were found in multiple locations. A total of 18 inversions on the X (n = 1) chromosome, chromosome 2 (n = 7) and 3 (n = 11) were scored for 83 individuals from Manaus, Macapá and Porto Velho municipalities. The frequency of 2Ra inversion karyotypes in Manaus shows significant deficiency of heterozygotes (p < 0.0009). No significant linkage disequilibrium was found between inversions on chromosome 2 and 3. We hypothesize that at least two sympatric subpopulations exist within the An. darlingi population at Manaus based on inversion frequencies.

Holomorphic maps between moduli spaces

We prove that every non-constant holomorphic map&em&M&/em&&sub&g,p&/sub&→ &em&M&/em&&sub& g',p'&/sub& between moduli spaces of Riemann surfaces is a forgetful map, provided that g ≥ 6 and g' ≤ 2g-2.

Integración de Google Maps y TSP Solvers para la definición y resolución del TSP

Este trabajo final de carrera presenta la arquitectura e implementación de un entorno web para la descripción y visualización de instancias reales del TSP (Travelling Salesman Problem), a través de Google Maps, y su posterior resoluación mediante tècnicas de optimización combinatoria.

Using a Parameterization of a Radiative Transfer Model to Build High-Resolution Maps of Typical Clear-Sky UV Index in Catalonia, Spain

To perform a climatic analysis of the annual UV index (UVI) variations in Catalonia, Spain (northeast of the Iberian Peninsula), a new simple parameterization scheme is presented based on a multilayer radiative transfer model. The parameterization performs fast UVI calculations for a wide range of cloudless and snow-free situations and can be applied anywhere. The following parameters are considered: solar zenith angle, total ozone column, altitude, aerosol optical depth, and single-scattering albedo. A sensitivity analysis is presented to justify this choice with special attention to aerosol information. Comparisons with the base model show good agreement, most of all for the most common cases, giving an absolute error within 0.2 in the UVI for a wide range of cases considered. Two tests are done to show the performance of the parameterization against UVI measurements. One uses data from a high-quality spectroradiometer from Lauder, New Zealand [45.04°S, 169.684°E, 370 m above mean sea level (MSL)], where there is a low presence of aerosols. The other uses data from a Robertson–Berger-type meter from Girona, Spain (41.97°N, 2.82°E, 100 m MSL), where there is more aerosol load and where it has been possible to study the effect of aerosol information on the model versus measurement comparison. The parameterization is applied to a climatic analysis of the annual UVI variation in Catalonia, showing the contributions of solar zenith angle, ozone, and aerosols. High-resolution seasonal maps of typical UV index values in Catalonia are presented

New palaeontological investigations in the Jurassic of western Thailand

The paleontological investigations of the Jurassic of Western Thailand, districts of Mae Sot (Tak-Mae Sot highway, Padaeng Tak and Ban Mae Kut Luang Zinc mines) and Umphang (Klo Tho), provide age constraints for the Late Indosinian orogeny, the Paleotethys closure and the timing of the marine Jurassic inundation of Sundaland. The basal conglomerate of the Jurassic is derived from the pelagic Triassic Mae Sariang substratum. Stratigraphy, microfacies and paleontology of the Jurassic marine strata focus especially on ammonites, bivalves, large benthic foraminifera and algae. Among ammonites, the Tethyan Catulloceras perisphinctoides Gemmellaro marks the Upper Toarcian (Aalensis Zone) along the Tak-Mae Sot highway and Riccardiceras longalvum (Vacek). Malladaites pertinax (Vacek), Abbasites sp. and Vacekia sp. indicate Middle Aalenian to lowermost Bajocian in the Padaeng Mine (SE of Mae Sot) and Klo-Tho (Umphang). Vacekia sp., Spinammatoceras schindewolfi Linares and Sandoval and Malladaites vaceki Linares and Sandoval indicate Middle Aalenian to lowermost Upper Aalenian at Ban Mae Kut Luang (NE of Mae Sot). Among foraminifers, the large benthic foraminifer Timidonella sarda Bassoullet, Chabrier and Fourcade in the Western Tethys is indicative for Aalenian-Bajocian times, as characterized in the section at the Tak-Padaeng Zinc mine and the Klo-Tho Formation near Umphang. The endemic foraminifer Gutnicella kaempferi characterizes the Pu Khloe Khi Formation near Umphang. Among bivalves, shallow marine, dominantly endemic fauna includes Parvamussium donaiense (Mansuy) and Bositra ornate (Quenstedt), from the Toarcian to the Early Bajocian. A consideration of the faunal affinity shows that the fauna is partly endemic with Northern Tethyan (Eurasian) affinity. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of International Association for Gondwana Research. All rights reserved.

Ratio maps and correspondence analysis

We compare two methods for visualising contingency tables and developa method called the ratio map which combines the good properties of both.The first is a biplot based on the logratio approach to compositional dataanalysis. This approach is founded on the principle of subcompositionalcoherence, which assures that results are invariant to considering subsetsof the composition. The second approach, correspondence analysis, isbased on the chi-square approach to contingency table analysis. Acornerstone of correspondence analysis is the principle of distributionalequivalence, which assures invariance in the results when rows or columnswith identical conditional proportions are merged. Both methods may bedescribed as singular value decompositions of appropriately transformedmatrices. Correspondence analysis includes a weighting of the rows andcolumns proportional to the margins of the table. If this idea of row andcolumn weights is introduced into the logratio biplot, we obtain a methodwhich obeys both principles of subcompositional coherence and distributionalequivalence.

Regions of rationality: Maps for bounded agents

An important problem in descriptive and prescriptive research in decision making is to identify regions of rationality, i.e., the areas for which heuristics are and are not effective. To map the contours of such regions, we derive probabilities that heuristics identify the best of m alternatives (m > 2) characterized by k attributes or cues (k > 1). The heuristics include a single variable (lexicographic), variations of elimination-by-aspects, equal weighting, hybrids of the preceding, and models exploiting dominance. We use twenty simulated and four empirical datasets for illustration. We further provide an overview by regressing heuristic performance on factors characterizing environments. Overall, sensible heuristics generally yield similar choices in many environments. However, selection of the appropriate heuristic can be important in some regions (e.g., if there is low inter-correlation among attributes/cues). Since our work assumes a hit or miss decision criterion, we conclude by outlining extensions for exploring the effects of different loss functions.

Variability of apparently homogeneous soilscapes in São Paulo state, Brazil: II. quality of soil maps

The quality of semi-detailed (scale 1:100.000) soil maps and the utility of a taxonomically based legend were assessed by studying 33 apparently homogeneous fields with strongly weathered soils in two regions in São Paulo State: Araras and Assis. An independent data set of 395 auger sites was used to determine purity of soil mapping units and analysis of variance within and between mapping units and soil classification units. Twenty three soil profiles were studied in detail. The studied soil maps have a high purity for some legend criteria, such as B horizon type (> 90%) and soil texture class (> 80%). The purity for the "trophic character" (eutrophic, dystrophic, allic) was only 55% in Assis. It was 88% in Araras, where many soil units had been mapped as associations. In both regions, the base status of clay-textured soils was generally better than suggested by the maps. Analysis of variance showed that mapping was successful for "durable" soil characteristics such as clay content (> 80% of variance explained) and cation exchange capacity (≥ 50% of variance explained) of 0-20 and 60-80 cm layers. For soil characteristics that are easily modified by management, such as base saturation of the 0-20 cm layer, the maps had explained very little (< 15%) of the total variance in the study areas. Intermediate results were obtained for base saturation of the 60-80 cm layer (56% in Assis; 42% in Araras). Variance explained by taxonomic groupings that formed the basis for the legend of the soil maps was similar to, often even smaller than, variance explained by mapping units. The conclusion is that map boundaries have been very carefully located, but descriptions of mapping units could be improved. In future mappings, this could possibly be done at low cost by (a) bulk sampling to remove short range variation and enhance visualization of spatial patterns at distances > 100 m; (b) taking advantage of correlations between easily measured soil characteristics and chemical soil properties and, (c) unbending the link between legend criteria and a taxonomic system. The maps are well suited to obtain an impression of land suitability for high-input farming. Additional field work and data on former land use/management are necessary for the evaluation of chemical properties of surface horizons.