Molecular Detection of Rickettsia felis in Fleas of Companion Animals in East Texas.

Flea-borne spotted fever is an emerging insect-borne rickettsial infection caused by Rickettsia felis and has been identified worldwide. This study sought to explore the prevalence of rickettsiae associated with fleas on companion dogs and cats from Walker and Montgomery Counties in East Texas. Fleas were collected from animals entering local veterinary clinics for routine checkups. Collected fleas were identified as Ctenocephalides felis or Pulex irritans and analyzed by polymerase chain reaction for the presence of rickettsiae and subsequent sequencing. An estimation of the bcMLE (bias-corrected maximum likelihood estimation) of pooled samples was calculated. Four hundred eighty-eight fleas (comprising C. felis and P. irritans) were collected from 16 cats and 77 dogs. Our results demonstrate R. felis in 21 pools of fleas from dogs (bcMLE 15.28%) and a bcMLE of 7.25% from flea samples collected from cats. Sequence analysis revealed R. felis as the only Rickettsia that could be amplified in our samples using the rickettsial citrate synthase gene and subsequent sequencing. In this study, the presence of R. felis in fleas from companion cats and dogs suggests a potential risk of flea-borne spotted fever in humans who encounter flea-infested animals.

Two new species of Triozocera Pierce, 1909 (Insecta: Strepsiptera: Corioxenidae) from the Caribbean Islands.

Triozocera albocciput and Triozocera macrognathus are described from the Caribbean Islands. These new species constitute the only known Triozocera from this region. Triozocera albocciput occurs in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. The specimen from Cuba had previously been misidentified in the literature, as Triozocera mexicana and later Triozocera texana. The new species described here, as well as all other valid species in North America, are known only from male specimens.

Review of the Paraplea Esaki amp; China (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Nepomorpha: Pleidae) of Australia, with description of a new species.

The family Pleidae is represented in Australia only by members of the genus Paraplea. Paraplea brunni (Kirkaldy, 1898) has a widespread distribution in Australia and is also known from New Guinea. Paraplea halei (Lundblad, 1933) appears to be an endemic species occurring only in the southeastern part of Australia. The widespread species P. liturata (Fieber, 1844) occurs in Australia but only in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The description of P. bifurcata n. sp. documents a fourth pleid species, being known only from the Northern Territory. Paraplea bifurcata n. sp. is easily differentiated from other species of Paraplea by having a bifurcated abdominal keel. An identification key and discussion of morphological characters of the four species of Paraplea from Australia is given.

The Pleidae (Hemiptera, Heteroptera) of Thailand, with the descriptions of two new species and a discussion of species from Southeast Asia.

The family Pleidae is represented in Thailand by four species in the genus Paraplea. Two of these species, P. frontalis and P. liturata, are widespread and relatively common in Southeast Asia. Two other species, P. lateromaculata Cook, sp. nov. and P. melanodera Cook, sp. nov., are described and only known from Thailand. Full descriptions are provided for all four species. The distributions of these species are discussed, with an emphasis on Thailand. Paraplea frontalis, P. liturata, and P. lateromaculata Cook, sp. nov. are relatively widespread within Thailand and have overlapping distributions whereas P. melanodera Cook, sp. nov. appears restricted to small brackish ponds near western coastal areas of peninsular Thailand.

Description of two new species of Neoplea Esaki amp; China (Hemiptera: Pleidae) from Colombia.

Neoplea hyaloderma n. sp. and N. melanosoma n. sp. (Insecta: Hemiptera: Pleidae) are described from Colombia. This increases the number of species of pleids known from Colombia to four, all of which are in the genus Neoplea Esaki China. A key to the species of Neoplea of Colombia is included. Neoplea melanosoma appears to be part of a species complex with N. maculosa (Berg) and N. tenuistyla Roback Nieser, and herein is called the N. maculosa species complex. We also note that there is probably at least one additional species in this complex from Suriname that was previously identified as N. maculosa. Neoplea melanosoma n. sp. appears to most closely resemble N. maculosa from Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay than the geographically closer N. tenuistyla. Neoplea hyaloderma n. sp. appears most closely related to N. lingula Roback Nieser, which is also in Colombia.

The genus Triozocera Pierce, 1909 (Insecta: Strepsiptera: Corioxenidae) in South America.

A new species of Triozocera from the Brazilian Amazon basin was found in a sample of male Strepsiptera from the collection of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia (INPA-Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil). Triozocera buehrheimi sp.n. is described and the status of T. paulistana Kogan, 1958, the first strepsipteran described from Brazil, is reviewed, with additional diagnostic characters used to reinstate the species based on comparative analyses to the other three species occurring in southern US, Mexico, and Central America: T. mexicana Pierce, 1909, T. tecpanensis Brailowsky and Márquez, 1974, and T. vernalis Kifune and Brailowsky, 1987. A key to those species is included.

Two new species of Halictophagus (Strepsiptera, Halictophagidae) from the Dominican Republic.

Halictophagus trigonodontos Cook, n. sp. and Halictophagus dominicus Cook, n. sp. are described from the Dominican Republic. The stout and heavily-sclerotized mandibles of H. trigonodontos are unusual for the genus. The genus Halictophagus and the subfamily Halictophaginae have previously been characterized as having non-sclerotized mandibles. However, H. trigonodontos and H. dominicus have sclerotized mandibles, as do other previously describes Halictophagus species. The subfamily Halictophaginae, including genera Halictophagus and Stenocranophilus, can still be separated from Coriophaginae by not having a head capsule with sulci and sutures as is found in Coriophaginae.

Texting and accessing the web while driving: traffic citations and crashes among young adult drivers.

OBJECTIVE: We examined relations between young adult texting and accessing the web while driving with driving outcomes (viz. crashes and traffic citations). Our premise is that engaging in texting and accessing the web while driving is not only distracting but that these activities represent a pattern of behavior that leads to an increase in unwanted outcomes, such as crashes and citations. METHODS: College students (N = 274) on 3 campuses (one in California and 2 in Utah) completed an electronic questionnaire regarding their driving experience and cell phone use. RESULTS: Our data indicate that 3 out of 4 (74.3%) young adults engage in texting while driving, over half on a weekly basis (51.8%), and some engage in accessing the web while driving (16.8%). Data analysis revealed a relationship between these cell phone behaviors and traffic citations and crashes. CONCLUSION: The findings support Jessor and Jessor's (1977) "problem behavior syndrome" by showing that traffic citations are related to texting and accessing the web while driving and that crashes are related to accessing the web while driving. Limitations and recommendations are discussed.

Bedroom design and decoration: gender differences in preference and activity.

This investigation examined gender differences in niche-building preference and activity among 238 8th and 9th grade boys and girls. A questionnaire was developed to measure both the actual and preferred bedroom content, bedroom design activity, and the level of perceived influence by the immediate and extended family, friends, and social institutions. Gender differences were identified for preference, activity, and influence in bedroom design and decoration. Girls and boys differed in the type of items contained in their bedrooms. Girls' rooms contained stuffed animals and pictures of people, including themselves, more frequently than the boys' rooms. In contrast, boys' rooms contained sports-related items, and things for building or that they had built themselves. Although bedroom design activity for both boys and girls was influenced by older teens, friends, media, and popular culture, boys (but not girls) were also influenced by their mothers, fathers, girlfriends, and activities such as sports, Boy or Girl Scouts, and music lessons.