While bats are known to harbor various viruses and bacteria, their role as hosts for hemoparasites has not been extensively studied. This research investigated the presence of ectoparasites and vector-borne pathogens—including Anaplasmataceae agents, hemoplasmas, apicomplexans, and kinetoplastids—in 74 Phyllostomidae bats sampled from an urban forest fragment in southeastern Brazil. Overall, 31.1% of the bats were infested wit...

Purpose Strongyloidiasis is an intestinal helminthiasis that can induce structural alterations in the intestinal mucosa during infection. The present study evaluated histomorphometric alterations of the small intestine in mice experimentally infected with Strongyloides venezuelensis and treated with Rosmarinus officinalis essential oil. Methods Infected animals were treated orally with R. officinalis essential oil (200 or 400...

A recent UN report describes many regions as facing ‘water bankruptcy, ’ a condition in which available water resources can no longer meet existing demands. In practice, this means irrigation will likely bear the greatest burden of future water‐use reductions, a complicated and fraught decision to make given its critical role in food security. This review paper highlights the growing range of information now available through...

Currently, a major concern for fish populations is their declining resilience to climate events, reduced individual sizes and productivity and increased instability. Population dynamics of fish are often dominated by recruitment, i.e., the number of young fish entering the population. The contribution of old and large female fish (often denoted BOFFs) to recruitment is expected to be disproportionately large; however, the impo...

The geomorphic stability of coral reef islands depends on a continued supply of biologically derived sediment from reefs. However, the ecological processes that produce detrital sediment remain poorly resolved. The role of fishes as sediment producers has largely focused on coral sand generated by parrotfishes (Labridae: Scarinae) in clear-water settings, while the contribution of other groups, such as durophagous invertivores...

Purpose Many approaches have been used to model chordae tendineae geometries in finite element simulations of atrioventricular heart valves. Unfortunately, current “functional" chordae tendineae geometries lack anatomical fidelity (e.g., branching) that would be helpful when informing clinical decisions. The objectives of this work are (i) to improve synthetic chordae tendineae geometric fidelity to consider branching and (ii)...