Fleas (Siphonaptera) Parasitizing Peridomestic and Indigenous Mammals in Panamá and Screening of Selected Fleas for Vector-Borne Bacterial Pathogens.

In total, 341 fleas belonging to 16 species were collected from 78 host mammals belonging to 10 species in Panamá from 2010 to 2016. The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché) predominated on domestic dogs and was also recorded from domestic cats, the raccoon, Procyon lotor (Linnaeus) and the common opossum, Didelphis marsupialis Linnaeus. The largest number of flea species (7) was recorded from D. marsupialis and the most common flea on that host was the ctenophthalmid, Adoratopsylla intermedia copha Jordan. One Oriental rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis (Rothschild), was collected from D. marsupialis. Native rodents were parasitized by indigenous ceratophyllid, rhopalopsyllid, and stephanocircid fleas. The Mexican deermouse, Peromyscus mexicanus (Saussure), was parasitized by six species of ceratophyllids belonging to the mostly Central American genera, Baculomeris, Jellisonia, Kohlsia and Plusaetis. The long-tailed singing mouse, Scotinomys xerampelinus (Bangs), was parasitized by Plocopsylla scotinomi Tipton and Méndez, the only species of stephanocircid flea known from Central America. Twenty-six pools of extracted flea DNA representing 5 flea species (C. felis, Pulex echidnophagoides (Wagner), Pulex simulans Baker, A. intermedia copha, and P. scotinomi) and 79 individual fleas were all real-time polymerase chain reaction negative for Rickettsia felis, Rickettsia typhi, and Bartonella henselae.

Revisiting gerontology's scrapbook: from Metchnikoff to the Spectrum Model of Aging.

The historical roots of gerontology date to a time when old age was characterized as physical and mental decline. Nonetheless, Metchnikoff questioned the inevitability of this decline, believing that quality of life could be improved by broadening our understanding of the science of aging, a multifaceted concept that extends well beyond the biological science interpretation so prevalent in gerontology's history. This article examines foundational gerontological theories in an effort to unravel complex interactions that constitute physiological aging processes, the psychological manifestations of individual adaptation, and the importance of social and spiritual relationships in aging successfully. Evaluating these theories through an interdisciplinary lens will benefit scholars, researchers, and aging services professionals because it offers opportunities to extend gerontological concepts from theory to development of models that can ultimately be applied in common practice to promote successful aging, regardless of one's physical or cognitive health status. To that end, we propose the Spectrum Model of Aging. Utilizing components of game theory, we believe it offers a synergistic approach to improving quality of later life and thus promises to move the field of gerontology beyond disciplinary boundaries.