Home monitoring of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators: interpretation reliability of the second-generation "IEGM Online" system.

AIMS: Intracardiac electrograms (IEGMs) are essential for the assessment of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) function. The Biotronik Home Monitoring systems transmit an 'IEGM Online' that is shorter than the full-length programmer IEGM due to technical constrains. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the physician's classification of the underlying rhythm based on the second-generation IEGM Online. METHODS AND RESULTS: In total, 1533 patients treated with single- and dual-chamber ICDs and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators were enrolled at 67 investigational sites and followed for 15 months. The investigators classified the rhythm shown in IEGM Online as ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, atrial fibrillation, other supraventricular tachyarrhythmia, oversensing due to lead failure, T-wave oversensing, or other rhythm. At the next in-office follow-up, the investigators classified independently the rhythm seen in the corresponding programmer IEGM. The two rhythm classifications were compared thereafter. Both IEGM Online and programmer IEGM were available in 2099 arrhythmic or oversensing events, of which 146 (7.0%) were classified as other rhythm or artefacts and were excluded as inconclusive or atypical. The remaining 1953 events, affecting 352 patients (23.0%), were classified correctly in 1803 cases (92.3%). The accuracy of rough rhythm classification as ventricular, supraventricular, or oversensing was 97.2%. CONCLUSION: The Lumax and IEGM Online HD Evaluation study demonstrates that remote IEGM analysis is reasonably accurate in a remote monitoring system that transmits shorter IEGM than the full-length programmer IEGM for the sake of frequent, fully automatic data transmission.

Review of the genus Cratyna Winnertz (Diptera: Sciaridae) in Korea, including the description of a new species.

The genus Cratyna Winnertz, 1867 (Diptera: Sciaridae) is studied in the Korean peninsula. Cratyna (s. str.) suwonensis Shin, Menzel & Lee sp. nov. is described as new to science. Additionally, three species are redescribed and illustrated as new to Korea: C. (s. str.) ambigua (Lengersdorf, 1934), C. (s. str.) nigerrima (Mohrig & Krivosheina, 1979), and C. (Peyerimhoffia) vagabunda (Winnertz, 1867). A key to the Korean species is given. 

Structure and phase changes of alumina produced by flame hydrolysis.

Fumed alumina from the combustion of AlCl3 produced nano particles with specific areas from 30 to 220 m2 g-1 (BET) which were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, 27Al solid-state NMR and transmission electron microscopy. During the short-lived synthesis, highly disordered γ-alumina progressively transforms into a mixture of δ and θ-alumina. For the γ-alumina particles, only for particles with the highest specific area a significant amount of five-coordinated Al can be found which is only partially located in the particle surface. Water can be bound reversibly and increases the coordination number of aluminium atoms in the particle surface. For the well-crystallized mixture of δ and θ-alumina, high resolution and high S/N powder XRD pattern features a large number of superstructure reflections along with the commonly observed diffuse reflections. 27Al MQMAS NMR provides a total of 8 crystallographic sites with an unusually high resolution in the tetrahedral region, with 4 distinct AlO4 sites pertaining to the δ phase alone. The results suggest that the δ-alumina phase produced in this process can be described as an ordered structure.

Pseudolycoriella hygida (Sauaia and Alves)-An Overview of a Model Organism in Genetics, with New Aspects in Morphology and Systematics.

Pseudolycoriella hygida (Sauaia & Alves, 1968) is a sciarid that has been continuously cultured in the laboratory for nearly 60 years. Studies on this species have contributed to the understanding of DNA puffs, which are characteristic of Sciaridae, and to the knowledge of more general aspects of insect biology, including cell death, nucleolar organization, and the role of the hormone ecdysone during molting. The genome of Psl. hygida has now been sequenced, and it is the third publicly available sciarid genome. The aim of this work is to expand the current knowledge on Psl. hygida. The morphology of the adults is revisited. The morphology of larvae and pupae is described, together with the behavior of immature stages under laboratory conditions. Cytogenetic maps of the salivary gland polytene chromosomes are presented, together with a comparative analysis of the mitotic chromosomes of six different sciarid species. Pseudolycoriella hygida was originally described as a species of Bradysia and recently moved to Pseudolycoriella. We examine here the systematic position of Psl. hygida in the latter genus. Our results extend the characterization of an unconventional model organism and constitute an important resource for those working on the cytogenetics, ecology, taxonomy, and phylogenetic systematics of sciarids.

Molecular phylogeny of black fungus gnats (Diptera: Sciaroidea: Sciaridae) and the evolution of larval habitats.

The phylogeny of the family Sciaridae is reconstructed, based on maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony, and Bayesian analyses of 4809bp from two mitochondrial (COI and 16S) and two nuclear (18S and 28S) genes for 100 taxa including the outgroup taxa. According to the present phylogenetic analyses, Sciaridae comprise three subfamilies and two genus groups: Sciarinae, Chaetosciara group, Cratyninae, and Pseudolycoriella group+Megalosphyinae. Our molecular results are largely congruent with one of the former hypotheses based on morphological data with respect to the monophyly of genera and subfamilies (Sciarinae, Megalosphyinae, and part of postulated "new subfamily"); however, the subfamily Cratyninae is shown to be polyphyletic, and the genera Bradysia, Corynoptera, Leptosciarella, Lycoriella, and Phytosciara are also recognized as non-monophyletic groups. While the ancestral larval habitat state of the family Sciaridae, based on Bayesian inference, is dead plant material (plant litter+rotten wood), the common ancestors of Phytosciara and Bradysia are inferred to living plants habitat. Therefore, shifts in larval habitats from dead plant material to living plants may have occurred within the Sciaridae at least once. Based on the results, we discuss phylogenetic relationships within the family, and present an evolutionary scenario of development of larval habitats.

New records of Black Fungus Gnats (Diptera: Sciaridae) from New Caledonia, with the description of two new Bradysia species and an updated checklist.

The black fungus gnats Bradysia similigibbosa sp. n. and B. irwini sp. n. are described and new records of species of Bradysia Winnertz, Ctenosciara Tuomikoski, Epidapus Haliday, Pseudolycoriella Menzel & Mohrig, and Scatopsciara Edwards are presented for New Caledonia. A checklist of the sciarids of New Caledonia is given.

Biocatalytic potential of Pseudolycoriella CAZymes (Sciaroidea, Diptera) in degrading plant and fungal cell wall polysaccharides.

Soil biota has a crucial impact on soil ecology, global climate changes, and effective crop management and studying the diverse ecological roles of dipteran larvae deepens the understanding of soil food webs. A multi-omics study of Pseudolycoriella hygida comb. nov. (Diptera: Sciaroidea: Sciaridae) aimed to characterize carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) for litter degradation in this species. Manual curation of 17,881 predicted proteins in the Psl. hygida genome identified 137 secreted CAZymes, of which 33 are present in the saliva proteome, and broadly confirmed by saliva CAZyme catalytic profiling against plant cell wall polysaccharides and pNP-glycosyl substrates. Comparisons with two other sciarid species and the outgroup Lucilia cuprina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) identified 42 CAZyme families defining a sciarid CAZyme profile. The litter-degrading potential of sciarids corroborates their significant role as decomposers, yields insights to the evolution of insect feeding habits, and highlights the importance of insects as a source of biotechnologically relevant enzymes.

A new species of Hyperlasion Schmitz (Diptera: Sciaridae), causing periodic outbreaks in Japan.

A sciarid species, Hyperlasion breviantenna sp. n., is described from Japan. This is the first record of Hyperlasion Schmitz, 1918, from Asia. We compared the molecular sequence data of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) region and external morphological characters among congeners and related genera. Morphological features are described and illustrated, and genetic relatedness to selected species with a one-segmented maxillary palpus is shown as a maximum likelihood tree. The DNA barcoding approach revealed that the genetic sequences of Japanese specimens are identical with those of Australian specimens, which have been assigned to the genus Hyperlasion. The new species occurs in outbreaks during the rainy season, June to July, in Japan and is recognized as a nuisance pest. Newly emerged adults appear in the early morning and enter houses, facilities, and public buildings. The biology of the new species is compared with those of H. wasmanni Schmitz, 1918, and Moehnia erema Pritchard, 1960, which have been recorded as occurring in large aggregations with thousands of individuals abroad, based on published biological notes and reports on these species.

Metabarcoding reveals massive species diversity of Diptera in a subtropical ecosystem.

Diptera is often considered to be the richest insect group due to its great species diversity and broad ecological versatility. However, data on dipteran diversity from subtropical ecosystems have hitherto been scarce, due to the lack of studies conducted at an appropriate large scale. We investigated the diversity and composition of Diptera communities on Tianmu Mountain, Zhejiang, China, using DNA metabarcoding technology, and evaluated their dynamic responses to the effects of slope aspect, season, and altitudinal zone. A total of 5,092 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were discovered and tentatively assigned to 72 dipteran families, including 2 family records new for China and 30 family records new for the locality. Cecidomyiidae, Sciaridae, and Phoridae were the predominant families, representing 53.6% of total OTUs, while 52 families include >95% unidentified and presumed undescribed species. We found that the community structure of Diptera was significantly affected by aspect, seasonality (month) and elevation, with richer diversity harbored in north-facing than south-facing slopes, and seasonality a more profound driver of community structure and diversity than elevation. Overall, massive species diversity of Diptera communities was discovered in this subtropical ecosystem of east China. The huge diversity of potentially undescribed species only revealed by metabarcoding now requires more detailed taxonomic study, as a step toward an evolutionary integration that accumulates information on species' geographic ranges, ecological traits, functional roles, and species interactions, and thus places the local communities in the context of the growing knowledge base of global biodiversity and its response to environmental change.

New species and records of Lycoriella Frey (Diptera, Sciaridae) from the Holarctic region.

The following species of the genus Lycoriella Frey sensu Vilkamaa Menzel from the Holarctic region are newly described and illustrated: Lycoriella ampla sp. n. (Canada: Ontario), L. barkalovi sp. n. (Russia: Krasnoyarsk region), L. canningsi sp. n. (Canada: British Columbia), L. eurystylata sp. n. (Canada: Quebec), L. excavata sp. n. (USA: Colorado), L. jakovlevi sp. n. (Russia: Karelia), L. kinbasketi sp. n. (Canada: British Columbia), L. longa sp. n. (USA: Colorado), L. nivicola sp. n. (Canada: Nunavut, NWT; Greenland), L. pearyi sp. n. (Greenland), L. taimyrensis sp. n. (Russia: Krasnoyarsk region) and L. tundrae sp. n. (Russia: Krasnoyarsk region). Lycoriella parva (Holmgren, 1869) is redescribed and illustrated and new faunistic records are given for some previously described species of Lycoriella. The newly described species raise the number of known species of Lycoriella from 38 to 50.

Three Oriental species of Pseudoaerumnosa Rudzinski (Diptera, Sciaridae) from China.

Three Oriental species of the genus Pseudoaerumnosa Rudzinski, 2006 from China are described and illustrated: P. regularis sp. n., P. tianmushana sp. n. and P. tkoci Vilkamaa, Halenius Sevcík, 2019. The morphological species concepts were supported by the DNA barcodes of COI sequences. The genetic distances of Pseudoaerumnosa species were analyzed and a neighbor-joining tree was constructed, based on 37 sequences of nine species.

Fly Pollination of Kettle Trap Flowers of Riocreuxiatorulosa (Ceropegieae-Anisotominae): A Generalized System of Floral Deception.

Elaborated kettle trap flowers to temporarily detain pollinators evolved independently in several angiosperm lineages. Intensive research on species of Aristolochia and Ceropegia recently illuminated how these specialized trap flowers attract particular pollinators through chemical deception. Morphologically similar trap flowers evolved in Riocreuxia; however, no data about floral rewards, pollinators, and chemical ecology were available for this plant group. Here we provide data on pollination ecology and floral chemistry of R. torulosa. Specifically, we determined flower visitors and pollinators, assessed pollen transfer efficiency, and analysed floral scent chemistry. R. torulosa flowers are myiophilous and predominantly pollinated by Nematocera. Pollinating Diptera included, in order of decreasing abundance, male and female Sciaridae, Ceratopogonidae, Scatopsidae, Chloropidae, and Phoridae. Approximately 16% of pollen removed from flowers was successfully exported to conspecific stigmas. The flowers emitted mainly ubiquitous terpenoids, most abundantly linalool, furanoid (Z)-linalool oxide, and (E)-ß-ocimene-compounds typical of rewarding flowers and fruits. R. torulosa can be considered to use generalized food (and possibly also brood-site) deception to lure small nematocerous Diptera into their flowers. These results suggest that R. torulosa has a less specific pollination system than previously reported for other kettle trap flowers but is nevertheless specialized at the level of Diptera suborder Nematocera.

The Black Fungus Gnats (Diptera, Sciaridae) of Norway - Part I: species records published until December 2019, with an updated checklist.

Black Fungus Gnats (Sciaridae) are a megadiverse, cosmopoliltan family of bibionomorph Diptera. Even in Europe, the continent with the longest tradition in sciarid taxonomy, numerous taxonomic issues remain unresolved and countless species await discovery and description. The fauna of Norway is in these respects no exception. Recognising considerable knowledge gaps, the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre provided substantial funding for a detailed inventory of the Sciaridae species occurring in Norway, which was realised in 2014-2018. The results of this project will be published in a series of papers, of which the first is presented here, summarising available data on the taxonomy, faunistics, and autecology of Norwegian Sciaridae beginning with Zetterstedt's pioneering work in 1838 and ending with 31 December 2019 as the cut-off date. All published records from that period were analysed. The result is a list of 143 species and four unplaced names. Following a consistent scheme, verified locality details are provide including alternative spellings, habitats, and flight times of adults in Norway, literature citations for the faunistic records, and general taxonomic references for classification or identification. A checklist of the sciarid fauna of Norway and a complete list of the relevant literature are also presented.

Five mitochondrial genomes of black fungus gnats (Sciaridae) and their phylogenetic implications.

Sciaridae is a family of great species diversity, distributed worldwide, that includes important agricultural pests of cultivated mushrooms and plants produced in greenhouses. Here we sequenced five nearly complete mitochondrial genomes representing three subfamilies of Sciaridae. The lengths of these mitogenomes range from 13,849 bp to 16,923 bp with 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 20-22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and a control region (CR). Compared with other dipteran species, rearrangements in Sciaridae are more common. Inversion or transition is observed frequently of trnL2, and in the tRNA clusters trnI-trnQ-trnM, trnW-trnC-trnY, and trnA-trnR-trnN-trnS1-trnE-trnF. Phylogenetic relationships within the family were reconstructed based on these newly sequenced species, combined with the published mitogenomes of related families, and recovered the topology within Sciaroidea as Cecidomyiidae + (Sciaridae + Keroplatidae). Relationships recovered within Sciaridae were Sciarinae + ('Pseudolycoriella group' + Megalosphyinae).

Re-classification of Lycoriella Frey sensu lato (Diptera, Sciaridae), with description of Trichocoelina gen. n. and twenty new species.

On the basis of re-evaluation of morphological characters of the Lycoriella group of genera and subgenera, generic rank is given to the two species groups belonging to Lycoriella (Hemineurina) Frey, 1942 and to Lycoriella (Coelostylina) Tuomikoski, 1960. The Lycoriella (Hemineurina) inflata group, including the type species of the subgenus, Sciara conspicua Winnertz, 1867, is treated as the genus Hemineurina stat. n. and the Lycoriella (Hemineurina) vitticollis group as the genus Trichocoelina gen. n. (type species Sciara vitticollis Holmgren, 1883). Coelostylina Tuomikoski, 1960 (type species Lycoriella (Coelostylina) freyi Tuomikoski, 1960) is a junior homonym of Coelostylina Kittl, 1894, and is renamed Stenacanthella nom. et stat. n. The genera are diagnosed and their phylogeny is discussed. Eight species are excluded from the Lycoriella group. They are transferred to the genera Bradysiopsis Tuomikoski, 1960, Camptochaeta Hippa Vilkamaa, 1994, Merizomma Sasakawa, 2003 stat. n. and Scatopsciara Edwards, 1927 (five species) or are for the time being regarded as incertae sedis (two species) and as nomen nudum (one name). Numerous nomenclatural corrections are made also in the genera Hemineurina Frey, Stenacanthella Vilkamaa Menzel and Trichocoelina Vilkamaa Menzel. Altogether 42 new combinations, three changes in status and one new synonym are presented. A lectotype is designated for Hemineurina algida (Frey, 1948) and two Hemineurina species names are removed from synonymy and given full species status.                The following species of Trichocoelina are newly described: Trichocoelina absidata sp. n. (Russia: Krasnodarsk region), T. aemula sp. n. (Finland, Russia: Krasnodarsk region), T. biplex sp. n. (Canada: Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon), T. dicksoni sp. n. (Russia: Arkhangelsk oblast, Kemerovsk oblast, Krasnodarsk region), T. dispansa sp. n. (Russia: Krasnodarsk region), T. dividua sp. n. (Canada: Northwest Territories), T. hians sp. n. (Canada: Yukon), T. imitator sp. n. (Canada: Yukon), T. incrassata sp. n. (USA: Alaska), T. ithyspina sp. n. (Norway), T. jukkai sp. n. (Finland), T. magnifica sp. n. (Canada: Yukon), T. nefrens sp. n. (Russia: Krasnodarsk region), T. obesula sp. n. (Norway), T. oricillifera sp. n. (Finland, Norway), T. planilobata sp. n. (Finland), T. quintula sp. n. (Finland), T. semisphaera sp. n. (Finland, Norway), T. semusta sp. n. (Italy, USA: Alaska), and T. tecta sp. n. (Canada: Nunavut, Yukon, Russia: Krasnodarsk region, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, USA: Alaska). The Trichocoelina species are keyed, the 20 new species are described and illustrated, and the 9 previously known ones, transferred to the new genus, are briefly diagnosed and the taxonomically relevant literature regarding them is listed. Trichocoelina janetscheki (Lengersdorf, 1953) comb. n. and Trichocoelina brevicubitalis (Lengersdorf, 1926) comb. n. are redescribed. The genus Trichocoelina currently includes 29 species: 17 in the Palaearctic, 6 in the Nearctic and 6 in the Holarctic. All known species are northern or montane.

Morphology and DNA barcodes of two species of Bradysia Winnertz from China (Diptera, Sciaridae), with the description of Bradysia minorlobus Yang, Shi amp; Huang sp. n.

Two morphologically similar species of the fungicola species group of Bradysia Winnertz, 1867 were studied in China: Bradysia chenjinae Yang, Zhang Yang, 1993 and Bradysia minorlobus Yang, Shi Huang sp. n. The morphological species concepts were supported by the DNA barcodes of COI sequences. The genetic distances of 16 Bradysia fungicola group species were analyzed and a neighbor-joining tree was constructed. The morphological characters of both Chinese species were described and illustrated.

Descriptions of new species of the genera Camptochaeta Hippa & Vilkamaa and Corynoptera Winnertz (Diptera, Sciaridae) from the Holarctic.

Six species of the genus Camptochaeta Hippa & Vilkamaa, 1994 and four of the genus Corynoptera Winnertz, 1867 from the Holarctic region are newly described and illustrated: Camptochaeta chilkatensis sp. n. (USA: Alaska), C. curtipilosa sp. n. (USA: Colorado), C. exquisita sp. n. (USA: Oregon), C. fitzgeraldi sp. n. (USA: Oregon), C. fulvistylata sp. n. (Canada: British Columbia), C. pertenuis sp. n. (Russia: Krasnodarsk region), Corynoptera bocheri sp. n. (Greenland; Canada: Quebec), C. hyperborea sp. n. (Russia: Krasnodarsk region), C. hystricina sp. n. (RUSSIA: Krasnodarsk region) and C. tenuichaeta sp. n. (Russia: Krasnodarsk region).

Tuning the surface hydrophobicity of polymer/nanoparticle composite films in the Wenzel regime by composition.

Surface hydrophobicity of composite films containing polymer and nanoparticles has been studied as a function of composition. We show that the hydrophobicity can be tuned by adjusting the amount of particles in the two-component system. A sharp transition from a polymer-rich surface to a nanoparticles-rich surface was observed with increasing mass fraction of particles in spin-coated thin films. Water drops on the films did not slide down even at tilt angles of 90 degrees . Contact angle hysteresis increased with the mass fraction of particles indicating that the surface roughness increased as the surfaces remained in the Wenzel regime. Contact angle hysteresis data were quantitatively consistent with predictions of a recent theory.