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The German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.) (Blattodea: Blattellidae), is a serious pest in residential housing with control administered mainly through application of pesticides. Integrated pest management (IPM) involves a combination of strategies aimed at reducing pest populations. Over a 27 mo study period, we determined levels of German cockroach populations in rural manufactured residential homes: before IPM implementation (Pre-IPM), the period when residents were educated on IPM strategies (IPM-education), and during education and insecticide application (IPM-education plus bait). Sanitation level in the IPM-education phase (2.8) was significantly different from that in the Pre-IPM phase (3.9) and was accompanied by a decrease in trap catch. Sticky and jar traps were deployed in kitchen areas to assess levels of infestation. Trap catch from all participants during the 3 phases was significantly different. Mean cockroach catch per participant per trap was 20.5 ± 4.1 during Pre-IPM, 13.2 ± 2.2 during IPM-education, and 3.9 ± 0.7 during IPM-education plus bait treatment. During the last 3 mo of the study, the population level declined by 86% when compared with that during the Pre-IPM phase. Victor Roach®pheromone sticky traps captured more cockroaches (19.2 ± 1.9) than jar traps (7.2 ± 1.1), accounting for 73% of cockroaches captured. Traps caught more nymphs than adult cockroaches. Trap catch was unevenly distributed, with the highest (34%) catch occurring around refrigerators. We conclude that the inclusion of education of residents in German cockroach IPM programs will make implementation and sustainability of cockroach control more efficient.

Non-immersive VR environments are related to the least interactive application of VR techniques, such that interaction with the VR environment can occur commonly by 3D-TV without full immersion into the environment. This study presents how 3D-TV exposure combined with physiology recording can elicit fear of cockroaches among individuals with different levels of fear. Thirty-six participants, set apart into three fear groups (low vs. moderate vs. high), were exposed to VR environment with cockroaches for 4 minutes while recording and using cardiac activity as input to the VR environment. Results revealed significant effects on self-report measures and heart rate between different fear groups. Moreover, participants with higher levels of fear were more likely to trigger cockroaches into the scenario due to their cardiac acceleration. Overall results suggest that our physiology-driven VR environment is valid for fear elicitation while having potential use in therapeutic domain.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Permineralized wood is common in the Miocene beds exposed during the expansion of the Panama Canal. We describe a stem with the distinctive anatomy of a liana and evaluate the evolutionary, biogeographic, and ecological significance of this discovery. METHODS: The object of the study was obtained from a collection of fossil woods and fruits from a locality in the lower Miocene Cucaracha Formation, where the formation is exposed by the Culebra Cut of the Panama Canal. Thin sections were prepared using the cellulose acetate peel technique and examined using transmitted light microscopy. We described the anatomy and compared it with that of extant and fossil species. We also reviewed and evaluated published reports of fossils attributed to Connaraceae. KEY RESULTS: The anatomy of this fossil wood matches the genus Rourea (Connaraceae). The stem is only 1 cm in diameter, but vessels >200 μm in diameter also occur, indicating the perennial climbing habit. We evaluated 12 other pre‐Quaternary occurrences attributed to Connaraceae. Four are accepted, three are rejected, and we consider five unknown or uncertain. CONCLUSIONS: The discovery of this Rourea stem confirms the presence of Connaraceae in the Neotropics by the early Miocene, provides the oldest evidence of the climbing habit in the family, and contributes to our understanding of the flora of Panama 19 mya. Although the fossil record of Connaraceae is sparse, reliable occurrences span three continents and indicate that the family originated as early as the Late Cretaceous‐Paleocene and was widespread by the early Miocene.

In this study we explored the neuroimaging characteristics of persons with specific small animal (cockroach) phobia to determine whether there are differences in cerebral activity between persons with and without cockroach phobia under conditions of phobic and non-phobic stimulation. Method: 24 adult persons (12 with phobia) were studied. The diagnosis of phobia was obtained with a structured interview and questionnaires. All participants were exposed to a 3D video presentation during an fMRI session. Results: The phobic group showed significant differential activations that were congruent with a dual route model of fear processing through the thalamus-amygdala (route I) and the thalamus-sensory and association cortex-entorhinal cortex-hippocampus-subiculum-amygdala (route II). Apart from this dual route, we also found differential activations in the globus pallidum, parahippocampal gyrus, insula, pars orbitalis, triangularis and opercularis of the frontal cortex, and cerebellum. Respect to non-phobic group, no activations were found in the insula or the anterior cingulate cortex. Conclusions: There seems to be a dual route depending on how persons with phobia to cockroaches process phobic stimuli. This double processing can have implications for the psychological treatment of specific phobias. En este estudio se exploran las características en neuroimagen de personas con fobia específica a pequeños animales (cucarachas), para determinar si existen diferencias en la actividad cerebral entre personas con y sin fobia a las cucarachas, bajo condiciones de estimulación fóbica y no fóbica. Método: Se estudiaron 24 adultos (12 con fobia). El diagnóstico de fobia específica se obtuvo mediante una entrevista estructurada y cuestionarios. Todos fueron expuestos a una presentación en video 3D durante una sesión de RMNf. El grupo con fobia mostró activaciones diferenciales significativas, que fueron congruentes con el modelo de doble ruta en el procesamiento del miedo, a través del tálamo-amígdala (ruta I), y tálamo-corteza entorrinal-hipocampo-subículo-amígdala (ruta II). Además, se encontraron activaciones diferenciales en el globo pálido, en el giro hipocampal, ínsula, y en los pars orbitalis, triangularis y opercularis. Con respecto al grupo control, no se observaron activaciones de la ínsula ni el cingulado. Parece evidenciarse un modelo de doble ruta en el procesamiento de estímulos fóbicos. Este doble proceso puede tener implicaciones para el tratamiento psicológico de las fobias específicas.

New excavations along the Panama Canal have yielded a growing Early Miocene assemblage of mammals referred to as the Centenario Fauna. Despite the area's proximity to South America, the mammals of the Centenario Fauna have entirely North American affinities. The Centenario Fauna is distributed throughout a -115-m stratigraphic interval encompassing the uppermost Culebra and Cucaracha Formations within the Panama Canal basin. Previously published ages constrain the age of the lower limit of the Centenario Fauna to no younger than -19 Ma, but the upper limit has remained problematical. A fresh exposure of the Cucaracha tuff, a prominent marker horizon within our measured sections, has yielded two new radioisotopic determinations: (1) an 40Ar/39Ar age of 18.96±0.90 Ma and (2) a U-Pb zircon age of 18.81±0.30 Ma. In addition, magnetostratigraphic data indicate that the Centenario Fauna occurs within chron C5Er, from 18.78 to 19.05 Ma on the geomagnetic polarity timescale of Gee and Kent. These correlations further confirm the calibration of the latest Arikareean (Ar4) to early Hemingfordian (He1) transition in Nebraska, at the base of chron C5Er, at about 19.05 Ma. The Centenario Fauna occurs at the beginning of the Hemingfordian North American Land Mammal Age, i.e., He1. A broad faunal province existed during the early Hemingfordian that can be recognized across a north-south range of 5000 km throughout North America, with the southernmost limits defined by the Centenario Fauna of Panama

Comprehensive reference on the biology, behaviour and management of German cockroaches.

A new Allacta xizangensis sp. nov. (Blattodea: Ectobiidae: Pseudophyllodromiinae) is described and assigned to the polygrapha species group. Four known species, A. robusta,A. bimaculata, A. transversa, A. ornata, are re-described and illustrated based on type material and specimens kept in the collection of Southwest University (SWU), Sun Yat-Sen University (SYSU), Hebei University (HBU), China and Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IZCAS) and the Russian Academy of Sciences (ZIN). The hitherto unknown male of A. transversa is described with a special display of its genitalia. A key is given to identify the males of Allacta from China. The tarsomere ultrastructure of all the legs of A. ornata was examined by scanning electron microscopy.

We report the first Tertiary bird fossil from Central America, an ungual phalanx from a large, unknown genus and species of Accipitridae from the early Miocene Centenario Fauna, Panama. This specimen provides another example of a Neogene bird from North and Central America with its possible closest living relatives occurring today in Africa. In contrast, there is no evidence of African affinities among the reptile or mammal fossils from the Centenario Fauna.

The incorporation of rare earth elements (REEs) into the mineral lattices of skeletonized fossils has been used, particularly in vertebrates, to understand diagenesis and other postmortem paleoenvironmental parameters. Little is known about similar processes in invertebrates. Invertebrate and vertebrate fossils were analyzed for REE concentrations and patterns from five Miocene formations in central Panama (∼20–6 m.yr. ago). These formations (Culebra, Cucaracha, Gatun, Chucunaque, and Chagres) contain sediments interpreted to range from freshwater to shallow marine environments (depth of <300 m). We also compared different compositional types of fossils, including hydroxylapatite (bone) and aragonite (otoliths) in vertebrates and calcite and aragonite in invertebrates. REEs from modern invertebrates indicate that, as previously reported for vertebrates, invertebrates do not incorporate significant amounts of REEs into their mineral lattices during life; therefore, uptake must primarily occur during diagenesis. Comparisons of REEN concentrations (REE concentrations normalized to Post-Archean Australian Shale) of the fossils from Panama indicate differences in diagenesis. Within our largest sample from the Gatun Formation, there are significance differences in REEN concentrations and patterns within different compositional types. For example, shark teeth have the highest REEN concentrations and otoliths the lowest, with these differences likely a result of physical, chemical, and mineralogical factors. Calcitic and aragonitic fossils from the Gatun Formation show REEN patterns indicating differential uptake of individual elements during diagenesis. The cerium anomaly, previously used to indicate relative paleobathymetry, did not discriminate water depth in the marine formations. Comparative analysis of REEs in vertebrates and invertebrates provides a powerful tool to understand diagenetic processes, as demonstrated in the five formations and different compositional types studied from the Miocene of Panama.

Four distinct fossil turtle assemblages (Chelonia) are recognized from the Panama Canal Basin. The oldest, from the late Eocene–early Oligocene Gatuncillo Formation, is dominated by podocnemidid pleurodires. The early Miocene Culebra Formation includes both podocnemidids and trionychids. The early to middle Miocene Cucaracha Formation includes taxa classified in Geoemydidae (including Rhinoclemmys panamaensis n. sp.), Kinosternidae (represented by Staurotypus moschus n. sp.), large testudinids, trionychids, and podocnemidids, and finally, the late Miocene Gatun Formation records cheloniid sea turtles. These fossils include the oldest known representatives of Rhinoclemmys, the oldest record of kinosternids in Central America with a more extensive southern paleodistribution for Staurotypus and staurotypines in general, early occurrences of giant tortoises in the Neotropics, the oldest occurrence of soft-shell turtles in the tropics, the oldest late Eocene–early Oligocene Neotropical occurrences of podocnemidids. The Panamanian fossil turtles represent clades that are primarily endemic to North America, showing their very early arrival into the Neotropics prior to the complete emergence of the Isthmus of Panama, as well as their first contact with Caribbean-South American pleurodires by the early Miocene.