Revision of Loboederus Guérin-Méneville (Coleoptera, Elateridae, Elaterinae, Ampedini)

The genus Loboederus Guérin-Méneville, 1831 formerly included three species: L. appendiculatus (Perty, 1830), L. fleutiauxi Lesne, 1940 and L. luederwaldti Costa-Andrade, 1935. L. fleutiauxi is considered as a junior synonym of L. luederwaldti. The generic characterization and the morphological analysis and redescriptions of both species are presented. The lectotype and paralectotypes of L. luederwaldti are designated and the geographical distribution of both species is widened.

The species of membracids described by C. Berg and M. Spinola classified in Sundarion Kirkaldy (Hemiptera, Cicadomorpha, Membracidae)

Pyranthe acaciae Berg, 1883 and Hemiptycha chilensis Spinola, 1852 are reinstated in Sundarion Kirkaldy, 1904 (formerly in synonymy of Callicentrus bonasia (Fabricius, 1775) (Centrotinae, Nessorhinini)). Pyranthe frustratoria Berg, 1883 (also formerly considered as synonym of Callicentrus bonasia) becomes a new synonym of Sundarion flavomarginatum (Fairmaire, 1846).

Three new species and synonymy in Nealcidion Monné (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae)

Three new species of Nealcidion Monné are described: N. antennatum Monné & Monné sp. nov. from Panamá and N. albolineatum Monné & Monné sp. nov. and N. elegans Monné & Monné sp. nov., from Venezuela. Alcidion deletum Bates, 1880 is considered a synonym of Nealcidion strigilis (Erichson, 1847) comb. nov. The four species are illustrated.

A new synonymy in Alitocoris Sailer (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae, Discocephalinae)

A new synonymy in Alitocoris Sailer (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae, Discocephalinae). Alitocoris manni Sailer is considered a junior synonym of Alitocoris brunneus Sailer after the comparison of the holotypes with specimens from Mexico, El Salvador and Honduras.

The taxonomic placement and provenance of Hypopyra inconspicua Herrich-Schäffer (Lepidoptera, Thyrididae)

The taxonomic placement and provenance of Hypopyra inconspicua Herrich-Schäffer (Lepidoptera, Thyrididae). Tanyodes inconspicua (Herrich-Schäffer) comb. nov. is transferred from Spirama Guenée (Noctuidae, Catocalinae) to Striglininae (Thyrididae), as a senior synonym of Ortogramma rufitibia R. Felder & Rogenhofer syn. nov. and Tanyodes ochracea Möschler syn. nov., and from the African to the Neotropical fauna.

Notes on the geographic distribution and subspecific taxonomy of Sais rosalia (Cramer) (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Ithomiini), including the first records in Paraguay

Notes on the geographic distribution and subspecific taxonomy of Sais rosalia (Cramer) (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Ithomiini), including the first records in Paraguay. This paper provides comments on the subspecific taxonomy and geographic distribution of Sais rosalia (Cramer, 1779) (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Ithomiini), as well as an up-to-date distributional map, complemented with unpublished distributional data based on specimens deposited in the Coleção Entomológica Pe. Jesus S. Moure, Curitiba, Brazil and the Museo de Historia Natural, Lima, Peru. The following synonyms are proposed: Sais rosalia camariensis Haensch, 1905 syn. rev. as junior subjective synonym of Papilio rosalia Cramer, 1779 and Sais rosalia brasiliensis Talbot, 1928 syn. rev. as junior subjective synonym of Sais rosalia rosalinde Weymer, 1890. Additionally, the first country records of Sais rosalia in Paraguay, including the southernmost record of the species, are documented.

The taxonomic identity of Heliconius melpomene f. pyritosa var. fumigata Zikán (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

The taxonomic identity of the butterfly Heliconius melpomene f. pyritosa var. fumigata Zikán, 1937 (Nymphalidae: Heliconiinae) is discussed based on the discovery of the specimen based on which this name was assigned. The specimen is not a variation of Eueides tales surdus Stichel, 1903, as previously stated, but is in fact a variation of H. melpomene f. pyritosa, which is a synonym of Heliconius erato amalfreda Riffarth, 1901.

Randonnée: conseils utites aux patients (2e partie) [Hiking and useful advices to patients: part II].

The attraction of walking as a pastime has grown enormously in Switzerland over the past few years. Synonym of health and wellbeing, this activity carries some risks which more and more patients are questioning; answering these questions is not always obvious, so we wanted to tackle the subject. This second section concerns risks linked to food which can be found in the forest. Echinococcosis is an underestimated parasite which affects a large proportion of foxes in Switzerland. This infectious disease can also affect man following contamination which usually occurs through eating berries. Prevention is the most effective way to avoid poisoning by mushrooms. In case of poisoning, the physician must try and determine the toxidrome. The key element is the length of time before symptoms develop. Treatment is always symptomatic, using activated charcoal.

El paper del joc en el desenvolupament d'infants amb TEA

Jugar no és només un sinònim de diversió, sinó que darrera d’aquesta acció s’amaguen molts elements que són imprescindible per al desenvolupament infantil, ja que l’afavoreix en tots els àmbits de la seva vida. Un nen amb Necessitats Educatives Especial té el mateix dret de gaudir d’una estona de joc, i desenvolupar-­‐se com a persona. De fet, el joc és considerat una eina d’aprenentatge a l’edat infantil. Per això, el present treball de grau té com objectiu principal analitzar la importància del joc com a eina educativa amb infants amb un Trastorn de l’Espectre Autista. S’utilitza una metodologia qualitativa, i a través de l’observació, s’analitza com el joc ajuda a un infant amb Trastorn de l’Espectre Autista a adquirir determinades habilitats i capacitats que li permeten tenir certa autonomia. Els resultats obtinguts, permeten afirmar que la Unitat de Suport a l’Educació Especial utilitza el joc com un recurs didàctic per a treballar amb infants amb Autisme. Per això, es planteja una proposta d’intervenció dins d’aquesta unitat.

On the genera Allomachilis Silvestri, 1906, and Kuschelochilis Wygodzinsky, 1951 (Insecta: Microcoryphia)

The objective of this study was to revise the nominal, and only described, species of the genera Allomachilis Silvestri, 1906, from Australia, and Kuschelochilis Wygodzinsky, 1951, from Chile (Microcoryphia: Meinertellidae). The studied specimens came from the collections deposited in the: American Museum of Natural History (USA); Instituto di Entomologia Agraria dell'Università di Portici (Italy); South Australian Museum (Australia); Carmen Bach collection of the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (Spain); and the entomology collection of the Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical (Portugal). The revision of the nominal species of the genera Allomachilis and Kuschelochilis allows to consider the Neotropical genus a junior synonym of the Australian one.

Randonnée: conseils utiles aux patients (1re partie) [Hiking and useful advices to patients (part 1)].

The attraction of walking as a pastime has grown enormously in Switzerland over the past few years. Synonym of health and well-being, this activity carries some risks which more and more patients are questioning; answering these questions is not always obvious, so we wanted to tackle the subject. Risks linked to certain animals will be covered. One of these risks is insect stings, particularly wasps and bees. This is a major problem which affects the whole population and more seriously those who are allergic, accounting for around 5% of the population. Another problem: snake bites. In Switzerland, there are about 20-25 bites each year. Poisoning from these can be divided into two categories: local or systemic. The effects are multiple and diverse, ranging from renal failure to discrasia to hypovolemic shock. Pre-hospitalisation measures are of paramount importance in the treatment.

The ‘Dys-Appearing’ Body in Doris Lessing’s The Diary of a Good Neighbour and Margaret Forster’s Have the Men Had Enough?

If the old body is usually read as a synonym of fragility and upcoming illness, even though not the case for most elderly citizens, the reality is that the longer we live, the increased probability of being affected by different illnesses cannot be eluded or denied. In Doris Lessing’s The Diary of a Good Neighbour and Margaret Forster’s Have the Men Had Enough? the reader is invited to participate in the day-to-day routines of two aged female protagonists, as well as to empathize with their inner feelings as they go through their last life stage. In fact, their ‘dys-appearing’ bodies, marked by their respective terminal illnesses, force these characters to grow closer to those around them and to accept the help of their families and friends, despite their desire to keep their free will and independence until the very end. The analysis of the two novels within the framework of ageing studies aims to show the contradictions existing between a growing ageing society and the negative cultural connotations of old age in Western society and the need to revise them.

Invisible Environments: Old Age and its spaces

Despite the progressive ageing of a worldwide population, negative attitudes towards old age have proliferated thanks to cultural constructs and myths that, for decades, have presented old age as a synonym of decay, deterioration and loss. Moreover, even though every human being knows he/she will age and that ageing is a process that cannot be stopped, it always seems distant, far off in the future and, therefore, remains invisible. In this paper, I aim to analyse the invisibility of old age and its spaces through two contemporary novels and their ageing females protagonists –Maudie Fowler in Doris Lessing ’s The Diary of a Good Neighbour and Erica March in Rose Tremain ’s The Cupboard. Although invisible to the rest of society, these elderly characters succeed in becoming significant in the lives of younger protagonists who, immersed in their active lives, become aware of the need to enlarge our vision of old age.

Diverse Routes from School, via Higher Education, to Employment. A Comparison of Nine European Countries

The central theme for this study is graduate employment and employability in European-wide discussion. In this study, the complex relationships between higher education and the world of work are explored from the vantage point of how individuals make use of the higher education system in their transition from education to employment. The variation among individual transition processes in nine European countries is analysed with the help of a comparable graduate survey. Countries in this study are Italy, Spain, France, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Finland, and Norway. The data used for the study is commonly known as the “CHEERS” or “Careers after Higher Education, A European Research Survey.” The data was collected in 1999. The study discusses the possibilities and limitations the higher education system has in supporting the initial education-to-work transitions of youth. The study also addresses problems with comparing national higher education systems in terms of enrolment and graduate employability. A central purpose for this study is to reflect on concerns about the prolongation of individual transitions with a framework that simultaneously considers both the graduate employability and the duration of the education-to-work transition process. The key concept for this study is the standard student/graduate; synonym concepts are the traditional and the conventional student/graduate. Standard graduates are relatively young individuals who are performing their initial transition from education to working-life and who complete the degree-earning process within the stipulated time frame. In all nine countries, standard graduates make up a considerable share of the student flow, passing from higher education to the labour markets. The share of standard graduates is by far the largest in France, where they comprise the overwhelming mass. The proportion of the standard graduates is the lowest in Italy, Finland, and Austria where approximately one in four graduates completed the process of higher education within the stipulated time frame. Of the nine countries compared, employability of the whole graduate population is the greatest in Norway, the UK, Finland, and the Netherlands. Compared with employability of the whole graduate population, variation among the countries is considerably reduced when reviewing the employability of only the standard graduates. Thereby, even though the ranking among countries remains largely unchanged, the variations among them are smaller when the duration of degree earning process is standardized. The study also discusses other ideal types of student careers (or transition processes) besides the standard student/graduate. Results of regression analyses indicate that that at the pan-European level analysis, the graduate labour markets are not heavily segmented in terms of the type of the individual transition process. When considering within-country differences between the graduates, the field of studies is clearly a more powerful explanatory variable than the type of the transition process. There are, nevertheless, clear indications that, irrespective of the country, chances of finding a high status job are, on the average, highest amongst those who graduate within the stipulated duration of the degree program and who thereby have experienced the standard student career, whereas, participating in working life while studying protects against unemployment after finishing one’s degree.

Phylogenetic relationships of the newly discovered sexual state of Talaromyces flavovirens, comb. nov.

Typical Talaromyces ascomata were observed on dry Quercus suber leaf litter amongst the characteristic synnemata of Penicillium aureocephalum, and they appear to represent the sexual state of the latter species. The species is a synonym of the older Lasioderma flavovirens, and we propose the new combination Talaromyces flavovirens. Lectotype and epitype specimens are designated for this name. The defining characters of the asexual state include yellow, short-stalked, mycetozoan-like synnemata with an unusual, almost closed terminal head of penicillate conidiophores intermixed with sinuous hyphae, and dark green conidia. Ascomata could not be induced in culture, but PCR amplifications of mating-type genes indicate the species is heterothallic. In nature, ascocarp initials appear to be antheridia coiled around clavate ascogonia, similar to those of T. flavus, and the thick-walled, spiny ascospores are also similar to those of T. flavus. ITS barcodes and β-tubulin sequences place T. flavovirens in a clade with T. apiculatus, T. flavus, T. funiculosus, T. galapagensis, T. pinophilus, T. macrosporus, and seven other species.