A Cross-Sectional Household Survey in the US Virgin Islands (2019) Reveals Cisterns as Challenging Peridomestic Aedes aegypti Habitats.

Most residences in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) rely on household rainwater-catchment systems and subterranean cisterns for long-term water storage that may provide suitable habitats for mosquitoes of public health relevance. We conducted a household cistern survey (n = 164) on the islands of St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas in 2019. The survey revealed that 45.7% (95% CI: 38.3-53.4%) of cisterns contained mosquitoes (adult and/or immature mosquitoes). Aedes aegypti, a vector of chikungunya, dengue, and Zika viruses in the USVI, was found in 27.4% (95% CI: 21.2-34.7%) of cisterns and accounted for 83.3% of the total mosquitoes identified in the study. The odds of detecting mosquitoes in a cistern were 5.45 times higher at locations where the residents reported that they had observed adult mosquitoes coming out of their cisterns (95% CI: 2.25-14.21), suggesting that vector control personnel should consider resident complaints about mosquitoes in their cistern as valid and likely reliable self-assessments. Resident mosquito management practices in cisterns did not correspond with decreased odds of mosquito detection. We conclude that cisterns in the USVI commonly provide habitat for immature and adult Ae. aegypti, which may decrease the effectiveness of area-wide mosquito control strategies. Additional studies are necessary to evaluate the importance of these cisterns as they relate to mosquito production and arbovirus transmission risk, and to assess physical and chemical control methods.

Melioidosis after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, St. Thomas/St. John District, US Virgin Islands, October 2017.

We report 2 cases of melioidosis in women with diabetes admitted to an emergency department in the US Virgin Islands during October 2017. These cases emerged after Hurricanes Irma and Maria and did not have a definitively identified source. Poor outcomes were observed when septicemia and pulmonary involvement were present.

Voluntad e intelecto: encuentros y desencuentros entre Tomás de Aquino y Duns Escoto / Will and Intellect: agreements and disagreements between Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus / Vontade e do intelecto: acordos e desacordos entre Tomás de Aquino e Duns Scotus

Resumen Introducción: la voluntad y el intelecto, dos potencias fundamentales que obran en el espíritu de los hombres determinando de una manera u otra sus elecciones, han sido desarrolladas y comprendidas de formas distintas por diferentes filósofos a la lo largo de la historia, entre ellos, los filósofos medievales Santo Tomás de Aquino y Juan Duns Escoto, cuyo pensamiento sobre estos asuntos se analiza en el presente artículo a partir de referencias como la Suma Teológica de Aquino, Giovanni Duns Scoto: una introduzione bibliografica de Todescan y La vida del espíritu de Hannah Arendt, entre otras. Objetivo: el objetivo del presente artículo es analizar los conceptos de voluntad e intelecto al interior del pensamiento de Tomás de Aquino y Duns Escoto, con el fin de identificar los puntos de encuentro y desencuentro entre ambos autores. Materiales y métodos: este análisis hace parte de una investigación cualitativa con enfoque hermenéutico, que empleó como instrumento de interpretación la revisión documental. Resultados: se logró establecer que la diferencia principal entre el pensamiento de ambos autores se refiere a la primacía que una potencia tiene sobre la otra: en Tomás de Aquino prima el intelecto sobre el deseo, mientras que en Duns Escoto prima la voluntad sobre el intelecto. Conclusión: para efectos de la prevalencia de una potencia sobre la otra, juegan un papel fundamental asuntos como el libre albedrío y, sobre todo, la forma en que ambas potencias actúan en la psique del hombre al momento de la toma de decisiones.

Abstract Introduction: The Will and the Intellect, two fundamental powers that work in the spirit of men, determining in one way or another their choices, have been developed and understood in different ways by different philosophers throughout history, among them, the medieval philosophers St. Thomas Aquinas and John Duns Scotus, whose thinking on these matters is analyzed in this article, from references such as the "Theological Summa" of Aquinas, "Giovanni" of Duns Scoto, "A bibliographical introduction" by Todescan, and" The life of the spirit" by Arendt, among others. Objective: The objective of this article is to analyze the concepts of Will and Intellect within the thought of Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus, in order to identify the points of encounter and disagreement between both authors. Material and methods: This analysis is part of a qualitative research with a hermeneutic approach, which used documentary review as an instrument of interpretation. Results: It was established that the main difference between the thinking of both authors, refers to the primacy that one power has over the other: in Thomas Aquinas the intellect over desire, while in Duns Scotus the will prevails over the intellect. Conclusions. For the effects of the prevalence of one power over the other, issues such as free will play a fundamental role and, above all, the way in which both powers act in the psyche of man at the moment of decision making.

Resumo Introdução: Vontade e Intelecto, dois poderes fundamentais que operam no espírito dos homens, determinando de uma maneira ou de outra suas escolhas, foram desenvolvidos e compreendidos de diferentes maneiras por diferentes filósofos ao longo da história, entre eles, os filósofos medievais Santo Tomás de Aquino e João Duns Scotus, cujo pensamento sobre essas questões é analisado neste artigo, a partir de referências como a "Summa Teologico" de Aquino, "Giovanni" de Duns Scoto, "Uma introdução bibliográfica" de Todescan, e "A Vida do Espírito" de Arendt, entre outros. Objetivo: O objetivo deste artigo é analisar os conceitos de Vontade e Intelecto no pensamento de Tomás de Aquino e Duns Scotus, a fim de identificar os pontos de encontro e discordância entre os dois autores. Materiais e métodos: Esta análise é parte de uma pesquisa qualitativa com abordagem hermenêutica, que utilizou a revisão documental como instrumento de interpretação. Resultados: Foi estabelecido que a principal diferença entre os pensamentos de ambos autores refere-se à primazia que um poder tem sobre o outro: em Tomás de Aquino, o intelecto sobre o desejo, enquanto em Duns Scotus a vontade prevalece sobre o intelecto. Conclusões: Para os efeitos da prevalência de um poder sobre o outro, questões como o livre arbítrio jogan um papel fundamental e, sobretudo, o modo como ambos poderes atuam na psique do homem no momento da tomada de decisão.

An assessment of nutrients and sedimentation in the St. Thomas East End Reserves, US Virgin Islands.

Nutrients and sedimentation were monitored for approximately 2 years at six sites in the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER), St. Thomas, USVI, as part of a NOAA project to develop an integrated environmental assessment. Concentrations of ammonium (NH4+) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) were higher in Mangrove Lagoon and Benner Bay in the western portion of STEER than in the other sites further east (i.e., Cowpet Bay, Rotto Cay, St. James, and Little St. James). There was no correlation between rainfall and nutrient concentrations. Using a set of suggested nutrient thresholds that have been developed to indicate the potential for the overgrowth of algae on reefs, approximately 60% of the samples collected in STEER were above the threshold for orthophosphate (HPO4=), while 55% of samples were above the DIN threshold. Benner Bay had the highest sedimentation rate of any site monitored in STEER, including Mangrove Lagoon. There was also an east to west and a north to south gradient in sedimentation, indicative of higher sedimentation rates in the western, more populated areas surrounding STEER, and sites closer to the shore of the main island of St. Thomas. Although none of the sites had a mean or average sedimentation rate above a suggested sedimentation threshold, the mean sedimentation rate in Benner Bay was just below the threshold.

New records of fish parasitic isopods of the gill-attaching genus Mothocya Costa, in Hope, 1851 from the Virgin Islands, Caribbean, with description of a new species.

Two species of Mothocya Costa, in Hope, 1851 are reported from the Virgin Islands. Mothocya xenobranchia Bruce, 1986 was collected from St. John Island from the gills of the Atlantic needlefish, Strongylura marina, which is a new locality record and also confirms a previously uncertain host identity. Mothocya bertlucy sp. n. is described from St. Thomas, St John and Guana Islands, from the gills of the redlip blenny, Ophioblennius macclurei, the first record of a blenny as host for any Mothocya. The distinguishing characters of Mothocya bertlucy sp. n. include its small size (< 9 mm) and eyes, the slender pleotelson with a narrowly rounded caudomedial point, extended uropod peduncle and uropods which do not extend past the pleotelson posterior margin, and the narrow pleon which is only slightly overlapped by pereonite 7.