An annotated checklist of Culicoides Latreille, 1809 (Insecta: Ceratopogonidae: Diptera) with incorporation of a vector species list from India

Culicoides Latreille, 1809 (Insecta : Diptera : Ceratopogonidae) are small nematocerous biological vectors of a wide range of pathogens of veterinary and medical importance. They are distributed worldwide but prefer warm, damp, and muddy areas. Female midges require blood for egg maturation. Studies on taxonomy, proper identification keys, and distribution patterns of these flies across different geographical regions of India of these flies are limited. This article provides an updated checklist of Culicoides spp. from India collected from various scattered publications, along with their synonyms and details on their subgenera, geographical distribution, and type locality. A compiled list of different Culicoides vectors from India has also been included separately in this article, along with the type of the diseases spread.     

Practising Conservation Biology in a Virtual Rainforest World

The interdisciplinary science of conservation biology provides undergraduate biology students with the opportunity to connect the biological sciences with disciplines including economics, social science and philosophy to address challenging conservation issues. Because of its complexity, students do not often have the opportunity to practise conservation biology. To increase exposure to this science, this paper describes a virtual rainforest island on which students collect data related to forest carbon storage, while also confronting ethical issues. Students are asked to independently make decisions, collect data and explore the island before writing a research report with recommendations for the future management of the island’s forests. The ethics of decision-making are addressed in the students’ research reports and are reinforced through guided class discussion. Students will complete this activity with increased ethical awareness, as well as a better understanding of the challenges associated with the practise of conservation biology.     

A new species of the genus Vulda Jacquelin du Val from Turkey (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Xantholinini)

Vulda assingi sp. n. from Bozda?lar, Manisa province, western Anatolia, is de-scribed, illustrated and distinguished from congeners recorded from Turkey. Additional records are reported for two species. A total of six species is now known from Turkey.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B3E6C251-50D4-4985-9655-2EAC57869F18     

Annotated checklist of the Hydraenidae (Coleoptera: Staphylinoidea) recorded from Iran

According to our analysis of literature sources on the family Hydraenidae (Coleoptera: Staphylinoidea) of Iran, it is represented by 67 species and three genera: Hydraena Kugelann, 1794 (21 species), Limnebius Leach, 1815 (six species) and Ochthebius Leach, 1815 (40 species). Twenty-two species are supposed to be endemic to Iran. Here, for the first time, we summarize species distribution data in Iranian provinces and present them in a checklist of Iranian Hydraenidae. We also present two additional species lists: one with incorrect records (one species and one subspecies) and the other with unidentified species.     

BENEFITS TO RESEARCH SUBJECTS IN INTERNATIONAL TRIALS: DO THEY REDUCE EXPLOITATION OR INCREASE UNDUE INDUCEMENT?

There is an alleged tension between undue inducement and exploitation in research trials. This paper considers claims that increasing the benefits to research subjects enrolled in international, externally‐sponsored clinical trials should be avoided on the grounds that it may result in the undue inducement of research subjects. It proceeds from the premise that there are good grounds for thinking that, at least some, international research sponsors exploit trial participants because they do not provide the research population with a fair share of the benefits of research. This provides a prima facie argument for increasing the benefits for research participants. Concern over undue inducement is a legitimate moral concern; however, if this concern is to prevent research populations from receiving their fair share of benefits from research there must be sufficient evidence that these benefits will unduly influence patients’ decision‐making regarding trial participation. This article contributes to the debate about exploitation versus undue inducement by introducing an analysis of the available empirical research into research participants’ motivations and the influence of payments on research subjects’ behaviour and risk assessment. Admittedly, the available research in this field is limited, but the research that has been conducted suggests that financial rewards do not distort research subjects’ behaviour or blind them to the risks involved with research. Therefore, I conclude that research sponsors should prioritise the prevention of exploitation in international research by providing greater benefits to research participants.     

Drivers of change in global agriculture

As a result of agricultural intensification, more food is produced today than needed to feed the entire world population and at prices that have never been so low. Yet despite this success and the impact of globalization and increasing world trade in agriculture, there remain large, persistent and, in some cases, worsening spatial differences in the ability of societies to both feed themselves and protect the long-term productive capacity of their natural resources. This paper explores these differences and develops a countryxfarming systems typology for exploring the linkages between human needs, agriculture and the environment, and for assessing options for addressing future food security, land use and ecosystem service challenges facing different societies around the world.     

Macrofungal taxa and human population in Italy’s regions

Fungi are relatively understudied, particularly in terms of biogeographical patterns. We analyse whether there is a spatial correlation between macrofungi (Basidiomycota) and human population (both in terms of size and rate of change) in Italy’s regions. Although current fungal taxonomic richness increases with increasing number of inhabitants (censused in 1986 and 2006 and predicted for 2026) and with their density, these relationships are not significant when controlling for variations in area amongst regions. This result, along with other recent independent studies, suggests that the large-scale spatial correlation of people and species can be often explained by both variables correlating with a third factor such as area, habitat heterogeneity or energy availability. Macrofungal richness significantly increases with percentage of forest cover, but not with percentage of protected area, suggesting that the conservation of Italian fungi needs to be addressed also outside the current network of national and regional nature reserves. The absence of any significant association of the estimate of macrofungal taxa with human population change observed in the last and predicted for the next two decades implies that there is no current clear trend towards a change of the ratio between macrofungal taxa and human presence at this scale of analysis. Further work at a higher resolution is needed to assess the consequences for Italy’s fungal biodiversity of the abandonment of marginal land and the expansion of urbanized areas in regions of high environmental productivity.     

Cutoff variation induces different topological properties: A new discovery of amino acid network within protein

An increasing attention has been dedicated to the characterization of complex networks within the protein world. Before now most investigations about protein structures were only considered where the interactive cutoff distance R_c=5 or 7 Å. It is noteworthy that the length of peptide bond is about 1.5 Å, the length of hydrogen bond is about 3 Å, the range of London-van der Waals force is about 5 Å and the range of hydrophobic effect can reach to 12 Å in protein molecule. Present work reports a study on the topological properties of the amino acid network constructed by different interactions above. The results indicate that the small-world property of amino acid network constructed by the peptide and hydrogen bond, London-van der Waals force and the hydrophobic effect is strong, very strong and relatively weak, respectively. Besides, there exists a precise exponential relation C∝k^−0.5 at R_c=12 Å. It means that the amino acid network constructed by the hydrophobic effect tend to be hierarchical. Functional modules could be the cause for hierarchical modularity architecture in protein structures. This study on amino acid interactive network for different interactions facilitates the identification of binding sites which is strongly linked with protein function, and furthermore provides reasonable understanding of the underlying laws of evolution in genomics and proteomics.     

Clinical research law in Jordan: an ethical analysis

An ethical analysis of Jordan's Clinical Research Law, which became effective in 2001, was performed. Accordingly, this paper discusses the major components, key strengths and weaknesses of this law. As an initial effort, the Law addresses important aspects of research ethics and, hence, should serve as an example for other Arab Countries in the Middle East. Unique aspects of the Law include the requirement that those conducting any study have insurance that can compensate for research injuries and a system of fines and punishments for noncompliance with the Law. There are, however, some key items missing in the Jordanian Law. For example, the Law does not mention the requirement of a favourable assessment of risks and benefits, the fair selection of subjects, or articles regarding the protection of the rights and welfare of children and other vulnerable subjects participating in research. The paper concludes with the suggestion that new amendments should be considered for future revisions of the Clinical Research Law in Jordan.     

Ethical issues in medical research in the developing world: a report on a meeting organised by Fondation Mérieux

This paper reports on a multidisciplinary meeting held to discuss ethical issues in medical research in the developing world. Many studies, including clinical trials, are conducted in developing countries with a high burden of disease. Conditions under which this research is conducted vary because of differences in culture, public health, political, legal and social contexts specific to these countries. Research practices, including standards of care for participants, may vary as a result. It is therefore not surprising that ethical issues emerge. This meeting sought to identify and discuss these issues from the perspectives of the many actors in such research, including community representatives, with a view to finding ethical and pragmatic solutions to these issues. Dialogue between these actors was also promoted, with a view to identifying the need to develop such dialogue in future.
Drawing from the experiences of the speakers, the colloquium attempted to outline some answers to several key questions characterising the field today. Experiences related to epidemiologic research, vaccine trials, drug trials, diagnostic tests and to some fundamental ethical issues in health research. Speakers were from different countries, disciplines and professions. The meeting provided a forum for consultation and debate between different ethics actors. Both encouraging findings and challenges emerged.