Extensive data engineering to the rescue: building a multi-species katydid detector from unbalanced, atypical training datasets.

Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is a powerful tool for studying ecosystems. However, its effective application in tropical environments, particularly for insects, poses distinct challenges. Neotropical katydids produce complex species-specific calls, spanning mere milliseconds to seconds and spread across broad audible and ultrasonic frequencies. However, subtle differences in inter-pulse intervals or central frequencies are often the only discriminatory traits. These extremities, coupled with low source levels and susceptibility to masking by ambient noise, challenge species identification in PAM recordings. This study aimed to develop a deep learning-based solution to automate the recognition of 31 katydid species of interest in a biodiverse Panamanian forest with over 80 katydid species. Besides the innate challenges, our efforts were also encumbered by a limited and imbalanced initial training dataset comprising domain-mismatched recordings. To overcome these, we applied rigorous data engineering, improving input variance through controlled playback re-recordings and by employing physics-based data augmentation techniques, and tuning signal-processing, model and training parameters to produce a custom well-fit solution. Methods developed here are incorporated into Koogu, an open-source Python-based toolbox for developing deep learning-based bioacoustic analysis solutions. The parametric implementations offer a valuable resource, enhancing the capabilities of PAM for studying insects in tropical ecosystems. This article is part of the theme issue 'Towards a toolkit for global insect biodiversity monitoring'.

Improving Retention in Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Interventions: An Analysis of Completion Rates across a Multi-Site Trial with Refugee, Migrant, and Host Communities in Latin America.

Research on mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) interventions within refugee and migrant communities has increasingly focused on evaluating implementation, including identifying strategies to promote retention in services. This study examines the relationship between participant characteristics, study setting, and reasons for intervention noncompletion using data from the Entre Nosotras feasibility trial, a community-based MHPSS intervention targeting refugee, migrant, and host community women in Ecuador and Panama that aimed to promote psychosocial wellbeing. Among 225 enrolled women, approximately half completed the intervention, with varying completion rates and reasons for nonattendance across study sites. Participants who were older, had migrated for family reasons, had spent more time in the study community, and were living in Panamá (vs. Ecuador) were more likely to complete the intervention. The findings suggest the need to adapt MHPSS interventions to consider the duration of access to the target population and explore different delivery modalities including the role of technology and cellular devices as reliable or unreliable source for engaging with participants. Engaging younger, newly arrived women is crucial, as they showed lower completion rates. Strategies such as consulting scheduling preferences, providing on-site childcare, and integrating MHPSS interventions with other programs could enhance intervention attendance.

Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterial isolates from Panama: A retrospective 5-year analysis (2017-2021).

BACKGROUND: The genus Mycobacterium includes well-known bacteria such as M. tuberculosis causing tuberculosis and M. leprae causing leprosy. Additionally, various species collectively termed non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) can cause infections in humans and animals, affecting individuals across all age groups and health conditions. However, information on NTM infection prevalence in Panama is limited. METHODS: This study conducted a retrospective analysis of clinical records from 2017 to 2021, specifically focusing on patients with NTM isolates. Data were categorized by variables like sex, age, HIV status, and sample source. RESULTS: Among the 4430 clinical records analyzed, 698 were linked to patients with NTM isolates. Of these patients, 397 were male, and 301 were female. Most female patients with NTM isolates (n = 190) were aged >45 to 85 years, while most male patients (n = 334) fell in the >25 to 75 years age group. A noteworthy proportion of male patients (n = 65) were aged 25-35 years. A significant age difference between male (median [min-max] = 53 years [3-90]) and female (median [61 years [6-94]) patients was observed (p < 0.001). Regarding HIV status, 77 positive individuals were male, and 19 were female (p < 0.001). Most samples (n = 566) were sputum samples, with additional pulmonary-associated samples such as broncho-alveolar lavage, tracheal secretions, and pleural fluid samples. Among extrapulmonary isolates (n = 48), sources included catheter secretions, intracellular fluids, peritoneal fluid, blood cultures, cerebrospinal fluid, bone marrow samples, and capillary transplant lesions. Specifically, the analysis identified the pathogenic microorganisms responsible for mycobacteriosis in Panama during the specific period 2017-2021, as M. fortuitum (34.4%), M. intracellulare (20.06%), and M. abscessus (13.75%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the growing public health concern of NTM infections in Panama. The research provides valuable insights into the prevalence and distribution of NTM species in the country, offering a foundation for the development and implementation of effective prevention and control strategies for NTM infections in Panama.

A Spatial Signal of Niche Differentiation in Tropical Forests.

AbstractExplaining diversity in tropical forests remains a challenge in community ecology. Theory tells us that species differences can stabilize communities by reducing competition, while species similarities can promote diversity by reducing fitness differences and thus prolonging the time to competitive exclusion. Combined, these processes may lead to clustering of species such that species are niche differentiated across clusters and share a niche within each cluster. Here, we characterize this partial niche differentiation in a tropical forest in Panama by measuring spatial clustering of woody plants and relating these clusters to local soil conditions. We find that species were spatially clustered and the clusters were associated with specific concentrations of soil nutrients, reflecting the existence of nutrient niches. Species were almost twice as likely to recruit in their own nutrient niche. A decision tree algorithm showed that local soil conditions correctly predicted the niche of the trees with up to 85% accuracy. Iron, zinc, phosphorus, manganese, and soil pH were among the best predictors of species clusters.

Updated checklist of treehoppers of Panama (Hemiptera: Membracidae) with plant associations.

An updated checklist of treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae) of Panama is provided with known province distribution data. The world catalogue of Membracoidea, through April, 1997, lists 68 genera, 162 species, and 1 subspecies from Panama (McKamey, 1998). Flynn (2012) listed all known species from Panama, documenting range extensions for 29 genera, 107 species, and 1 subspecies previously unknown from Panama, bringing the treehopper fauna from Panama to 97 genera, 269 species, and 2 subspecies. Inspection of 768 additional specimens since 2012 (new total of 3,595 specimens for the study), in addition to published literature, has added 2 new genera and 40 new species bringing the treehopper fauna to 100 genera (increase of 3 genera), 313 species (increase of 44 species) from 2012, and 2 subspecies. Many new provincial sites were added to each species with an updated provincial map showing numbers of species in each province. Updated species counts per Province (with increase): Bocas del Toro 65 (+10), Chiriqui 162 (+11), Veraguas 26 (+3), San Blas 8 (+1), Herrera 9 (+1), Darien 72 (+13), Los Santos 4 (+1), Cocle 43 (+9), Colon 187 (+79), and Panama 150 (+32). Tables listing published checklists and keys for Nearctic and Neotropical treehoppers are presented.

Chlorine Water Taste Threshold and Acceptability among Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Populations in Rural Panama.

Although gains in access to water services over the past two decades have been large, more than two billion people still lack access to safely managed drinking water. This study examines and compares free chlorine taste and acceptability thresholds of rural Indigenous Ngäbe and rural Latino Panamanians to study if taste aversion may be a limiting factor in chlorination of community systems in Panama using the three-alternative forced choice test methodology. This study is the first to establish a best-estimate taste threshold for a rural Indigenous group and the only study in Latin America to report best-estimate taste thresholds using those methods. Median taste thresholds were 0.87 mg/L Cl2 for Indigenous Ngäbe participants (n = 82) and 1.64 mg/L Cl2 for Latino participants (n = 64), higher than both the minimum concentration for biologically safe water (0.2 mg/L) and the recommended concentration range in Panama (0.3-0.8 mg/L). Median acceptability thresholds were established much higher than taste thresholds at 3.45 mg/L Cl2. The results show that the ability to accurately taste chlorine may not be the limiting factor for adoption of safe water initiatives in remote and Indigenous communities.

How Racism and "Tropical Medicine" Built the Panama Canal.

At the turn of the 20th century, the physician William Gorgas led work that substantially mitigated mortality from mosquito-borne diseases among workers building the Panama Canal. The waterway launched the United States to political and economic superpower status by eliminating the need for risky maritime travel around the southern tip of South America, expediting exportation of US goods in international markets. Yet, as this article explains, innovations that curbed malaria and yellow fever were deeply rooted in racist foundations of capital and empire.

Attitudes and behaviors of maternal Tdap vaccination in Panama, Peru, and Colombia: An international cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Despite a recommendation by PAHO for Tdap vaccination in pregnant women since 2019, uptake remains suboptimal across Latin America. This study evaluated the knowledge and attitudes of women towards maternal Tdap vaccination in Colombia, Peru, and Panama to identify the critical behavioral and social drivers of Tdap vaccine uptake during pregnancy. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey was undertaken between December 8, 2022, and January 11, 2023, targeting women in Colombia, Peru, or Panama with a child 12 months or under. We collected data on respondents' demographics, social and behavioral determinants of vaccine acceptance, determinants of vaccine uptake (using the validated 5As taxonomy), and previous vaccination experience. RESULTS: In the 938 respondents who completed the survey (Panama, n = 325; Peru, n = 305; Colombia, n = 308), 73-80 % had received the influenza vaccine, whereas only 30-39 % had received a Tdap vaccine. Significant correlates of Tdap vaccine uptake common to all three countries included a health professional recommendation, knowledge of the vaccine and location of vaccination, perceived vulnerability to pertussis infection, perceived importance of immunization, and receipt of a reminder. In specific countries, nonvaccinated women were more likely to cite issues with ease of access (Panama, Colombia), affordability (opportunity costs; Peru, Colombia), and understanding the rationale for vaccination in pregnancy (Panama, Colombia). CONCLUSION: To increase maternal Tdap vaccine uptake, health professionals should be encouraged to recommend vaccination consistently, and pregnant women should receive reminders explaining why and where to be vaccinated.

Molecular screening of tick-borne microorganisms in ticks from rural areas of Panama, with the first record of Ehrlichia minasensis in Rhipicephalus microplus from Central America.

During a molecular screening of rickettsial, borrelial and protozoal agents in ticks from rural areas of Panama, we detected DNA of Rickettsia amblyommatis in four Amblyomma mixtum collected from horses in a locality in Los Santos province. Ehrlichia minasensis and Anaplasma marginale were identified from three and two Rhipicephalus microplus, respectively, collected on cows from Chiriqui province. No DNA from other tick-borne agents was found. These results increase the information of R. amblyommatis and A. marginale in Panama, and also mark the first record of E. minasensis in Central America.

Mixed success for carbon payments and subsidies in support of forest restoration in the neotropics.

Restoration of forests in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has the potential to contribute to international carbon mitigation targets. However, high upfront costs and variable cashflows are obstacles for many landholders. Carbon payments have been promoted as a mechanism to incentivize restoration and economists have suggested cost-sharing by third parties to reduce financial burdens of restoration. Yet empirical evidence to support this theory, based on robust, dynamic field sampling is lacking. Here we use large, long-term datasets from Panama to evaluate the financial prospects of three forest restoration methods under different cost-sharing and carbon payment designs where income is generated through timber harvests. We show some, but not all options are economically viable. Further work combining growth and survival data from field trials with more sophisticated financial analyses is essential to understanding barriers and realizing the potential of forest restoration in LMICs to help meet global carbon mitigation commitments.

Human Lobomycosis Caused by Paracoccidioides (Lacazia) loboi, Panama, 2022.

We report a patient from Panama who had lobomycosis caused by Paracoccidioides (Lacazia) loboi. We used combined clinical-epidemiologic and phylogenetic data, including a new gene sequence dataset on this fungus in Panama, for analysis. Findings contribute useful insights to limited knowledge of this fungal infection in the Mesoamerican Biologic Corridor.

Short-term power load forecasting based on the CEEMDAN-TCN-ESN model.

Ensuring an adequate electric power supply while minimizing redundant generation is the main objective of power load forecasting, as this is essential for the power system to operate efficiently. Therefore, accurate power load forecasting is of great significance to save social resources and promote economic development. In the current study, a hybrid CEEMDAN-TCN-ESN forecasting model based on complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (CEEMDAN) and higher-frequency and lower-frequency component reconstruction is proposed for short-term load forecasting research. In this paper, we select the historical national electricity load data of Panama as the research subject and make hourly forecasts of its electricity load data. The results show that the RMSE and MAE predicted by the CEEMDAN-TCN-ESN model on this dataset are 15.081 and 10.944, respectively, and R2 is 0.994. Compared to the second-best model (CEEMDAN-TCN), the RMSE is reduced by 9.52%, and the MAE is reduced by 17.39%. The hybrid model proposed in this paper effectively extracts the complex features of short-term power load data and successfully merges subseries according to certain similar features. It learns the complex and varying features of higher-frequency series and the obvious regularity of the lower-frequency-trend series well, which could be applicable to real-world short-term power load forecasting work.

Biological invasions alter the structure of a tropical freshwater food web.

Biological invasions are expected to alter food web structure, but there are limited empirical data directly comparing invaded versus uninvaded food webs, particularly in species-rich, tropical systems. We characterize for the first time the food web of Lake Gatun-a diverse and highly invaded tropical freshwater lake within the Panama Canal. We used stable isotope analysis to reconstruct the trophic structure of the fish community of Lake Gatun and to compare it to that of a minimally invaded reference lake, Lake Bayano. We found significant differences between the trophic structures of these two Neotropical lakes, notably that Lake Gatun's fish community was characterized by a longer food chain, greater isotopic diversity, a broader range of trophic positions and body sizes, and shifts in the isotopic positions of several native taxa relative to Lake Bayano. The degree of isotopic overlap between native and non-native trophic guilds in Lake Gatun was variable, with herbivores exhibiting the lowest (20%-29%) overlap and carnivores the greatest (81%-100%). Overall, our results provide some of the first empirical evidence for the ways in which multiple introduced and native species may partition isotopic space in a species-rich tropical freshwater food web.

Probabilistic approaches for investigating species co-occurrence from presence-absence maps.

Background: In this research, we propose probabilistic approaches to identify pairwise patterns of species co-occurrence by using presence-absence maps only. In particular, the two-by-two contingency table constructed from a presence-absence map of two species would be sufficient to compute the test statistics and perform the statistical tests proposed in this article. Some previous studies have investigated species co-occurrence through incidence data of different survey sites. We focus on using presence-absence maps for a specific study plot instead. The proposed methods are assessed by a thorough simulation study. Methods: A Chi-squared test is used to determine whether the distributions of two species are independent. If the null hypothesis of independence is rejected, the Chi-squared method can not distinguish positive or negative association between two species. We propose six different approaches based on either the binomial or Poisson distribution to obtain p-values for testing the positive (or negative) association between two species. When we test to investigate a positive (or negative) association, if the p-value is below the predetermined level of significance, then we have enough evidence to support that the two species are positively (or negatively) associated. Results: A simulation study is conducted to demonstrate the type-I errors and the testing powers of our approaches. The probabilistic approach proposed by Veech (2013) is served as a benchmark for comparison. The results show that the type-I error of the Chi-squared test is close to the significance level when the presence rate is between 40% and 80%. For extremely low or high presence rate data, one of our approaches outperforms Veech (2013)'s in terms of the testing power and type-I error rate. The proposed methods are applied to a tree data of Barro Colorado Island in Panama and a tree data of Lansing Woods in USA. Both positive and negative associations are found among some species in these two real data.

History of the National Cancer Registry of Panama.

Background: The National Cancer Registry of Panama (NCRP) was established in 1974. In 1984, histological confirmation became mandatory. The now pathology-based registry has evolved and has been a population-based cancer registry (PBCR) since 2012 with cancer-specific Web-based reporting software. Herein, we characterize the main features in its development that may help readers understand its evolution and improvements that are needed to be in line with international standards. Methods: We describe the major components of the NCRP using its structure, processes, and a results framework for 3 major periods since its inception: 1974-1999, 2000-2011, and 2012 to present. Results: The NCRP has always been linked to the Ministry of Health of Panama. Until the end of its second period, it operated as a pathology-based registry and all staff worked part time. Currently, the NCRP is based on passive reporting through a Web-based system set up for both public and private health institutions, covering 77% of the existing health-care institutions in the nation. The number of cases with unknown age were less than 10 per year and primary tumors with unknown origin were at most 3%. The proportion of death certificate only (DCO) cases decreased 5% in 18 years. Men are more likely to have DCO than women (odds ratio, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.48-1.58). Discussion: The NCRP has evolved, achieving significant improvements and progress over the years. Yet, much remains to be done. To provide internationally comparable, valid, and timely cancer incidence data, the NCRP should continue to improve its quality and coverage and provide continuous staff training on cancer registry procedures.

Five new species of Gloeandromyces (Fungi, Laboulbeniales) from tropical American bat flies (Diptera, Streblidae), revealed by morphology and phylogenetic reconstruction.

This paper describes and illustrates five new species of Gloeandromyces (Ascomycota, Laboulbeniales) associated with tropical American bat flies (Diptera, Streblidae). These are Gloeandromyces cusucoensis sp. nov. from Trichobius uniformis in Costa Rica and Honduras, G. diversiformis sp. nov. from Strebla wiedemanni in Costa Rica, G. plesiosaurus sp. nov. from Trichobius yunkeri in Panama, G. pseudodickii sp. nov. from Trichobius longipes in Ecuador and Panama, and G. verbekeniae sp. nov. from Strebla galindoi in Ecuador and Panama. The description of these five species doubles the number of known species in the genus. Morphological characteristics, host association, and a three-locus (18S nuc rDNA, 28S nuc rDNA, TEF1) phylogenetic reconstruction support placement of these taxa in the genus Gloeandromyces. Three of the new species are polymorphic; they have multiple morphotypes that grow in specific positions on the host integument: G. diversiformis f. diversiformis, f. musiformis, and f. vanillicarpiformis; G. plesiosaurus f. asymmetricus and f. plesiosaurus; and G. verbekeniae f. verbekeniae and f. inflexus. Finally, a dichotomous key to all species and morphotypes is presented.

NOVELTY AND PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE SERENDIPEIDAE (CESTODA: "TETRAPHYLLIDEA").

Nanoduplicibothrium n. gen. is erected for the subgroup containing the smallest members of the "tetraphyllidean" family Serendipeidae with bothridia fused lengthwise in 2 pairs that lack both a distinct row of posterior loculi and a cephalic peduncle. Two new species in this genus are described. These are Nanoduplicibothrium leanneae n. gen. n. sp. from Rhinoptera bonasus off South Carolina and Nanoduplicibothrium megaphallum n. sp. from Rhinoptera jayakari off Mozambique. Two species currently assigned to Duplicibothrium are transferred to the new genus as Nanoduplicibothrium paulum n. comb and Nanoduplicibothrium jillae n. comb. and the diagnosis of Duplicibothrium is emended so that it aligns with the revised membership of the group. Duplicibothrium bilai n. sp. is also described from R. jayakari off Mozambique. The description of these species provides formal names for 3 species included in previously published molecular phylogenetic work under the provisional names Duplicibothrium n. sp. 2, Duplicibothrium n. sp. 4, and Duplicibothrium n. sp. 5, respectively. Erection of the new genus substantially reduces the number of instances of congeners in the family parasitizing the same host species because in most instances the pairs of species now represent 1 species each in Nanoduplicibothrium and Duplicibothrium. Sequence data for the D1-D3 region of the 28S rDNA gene were generated for Serendip for the first time from an undescribed species from Aetomylaeus asperrimus collected off Panama. This finding also expands the known host associations of the Serendipeidae beyond the Rhinopteridae to include a species of Myliobatidae. A maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis of all species of serendipeids for which data for the D1-D3 region of the 28S rDNA gene are available confirms the reciprocal monophyly of Nanoduplicibothrium, Duplicibothrium, and Serendip. The phylogenetic placement of the fourth genus in the family-the monotypic Glyphobothrium-remains to be determined.