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Acid atmospheric deposition is harmful to both forest and aquatic ecosystems. In mountain catchments, acidification also leads to difficulties in water resource management. In 2010-2012, acid atmospheric deposition was analysed in a small forest catchment located in the upper plain of the Jizera Mountains (Czech Republic). Patch observations included monitoring of the canopy interception in two mature stands of Norway spruce (Picea abies) at elevations of 745 and 975 metres a.s.l., and twelve passive fog collectors situated along an elevation gradient between 862 and 994 metres a.s.l. In the studied area, fog (and low cloud) precipitation starts to affect the interception loss of the spruce canopy at elevations above 700 metres. However, fog drip was found to also rise with the canopy area. At the catchment scale, methods of spatial interpolation (ArcGIS 10.2) were used to approximate the aerial atmospheric deposition of water and acidic substances (sulphate, nitrate and ammonia). In the watersheds of two adjacent drinking water reservoirs, Josefuv Dul and Souš, the mean annual fog drip from the canopy was between 88 and 106 mm (i.e., 7-8% of the mean annual gross precipitation, or 10-12% of the mean annual runoff). Simultaneously, this load also deposited 658 kg km-2 of sulphur and 216 kg km-2 of nitrogen (i.e., 55% and 48% of the “open field” bulk amounts). Therefore, in headwater catchments stressed by acidification, the additional precipitation (measured under the canopy) can increase the water yield, but can also contribute to a decline in water quality, particularly in environments of low buffering capacity.

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Introduction: The inferior phrenic artery is a paired artery with a variable origin and course, primarily supplying the diaphragm, but also the suprarenal glands, inferior vena cava, stomach, and oesophagus. The aim of this study is to investigate the origin and course of the inferior phrenic arteries on multidetector computed tomography and angiography., Materials and Methods: The anatomy of the inferior phrenic artery was analysed on 2449 multidetector computed tomography scans. Three-dimensional reconstructions were made of the main variations. Additionally, the course and branching pattern of the inferior phrenic artery were descriptively analysed in a cohort of 28 angiograms., Results: In 565 (23.1%) cases the inferior phrenic arteries arose as a common trunk and in 1884 (76.9%) cases as individual vessels. The most common origins of a common trunk were the coeliac trunk (n=303; 53.6%) and abdominal aorta (n=255; 45.1%). The most common origins of the right inferior phrenic artery were the coeliac trunk (n=965; 51.2%), abdominal aorta (n=562; 29.8%) and renal arteries (n=214; 11.4%). The most common origins of the left inferior phrenic artery were the coeliac trunk (n=1293; 68.6%) and abdominal aorta (n=403; 21.4%)., Conclusion: The inferior phrenic artery has a very variable anatomy. The most common origins of the inferior phrenic artery are the coeliac trunk and its branches, the abdominal aorta, and the renal arteries., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The inferior phrenic artery is a paired artery that supplies the diaphragm from its inferior aspect. It may arise as a common trunk, the common inferior phrenic artery (CIPA), or as two individual arteries, the right and left inferior phrenic arteries (RIPA and LIPA, respectively). The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to create pooled prevalence data on the various origins of the inferior phrenic arteries and to discuss their clinical importance., Methods: Major electronic medical databases were reviewed to identify articles with anatomical prevalence data on the origin of the inferior phrenic arteries. Data on the origin of the left, right and common inferior phrenic arteries were extracted and quantitatively synthesized., Results: The CIPA was present in 24.2% of cases and most commonly originated from the aorta, with a pooled prevalence 57.2% (95% CI 52.4-62.0%), and the coeliac trunk, with a pooled prevalence of 41.3% (95% CI 36.8-45.9%). Other origins were much less common (1.00% (95% CI 0.28-1.71%)). Independent origin of the RIPA and LIPA were present in 75.8%. The RIPA arose from the aorta (49.6%, 95% CI 43.2%-55.9%), coeliac trunk (35.7%, 95% CI 28.7-42.6%), right renal artery (10.3%, 95% CI 7.27-13.3%) and left gastric artery (2.07%, 95% CI 0.97-3.16%). Other less common origins had a pooled prevalence of 2.07% (95% CI 0.97-3.16%). The LIPA arose from the aorta (46.8%, 95% CI 39.1-54.6%), coeliac trunk (46.1%, 95 CI 38.6-53.5%), left renal artery (1.47%, 95% CI 0.78-2.15%) and left gastric artery (1.07%, 95% CI 0.25-1.89%). Other less common origins had a pooled prevalence of 1.29% (95% CI 0.44-2.14%)., Conclusion: The inferior phrenic arteries express a wide range of variations in origin. Knowledge of their origins are important in interventional radiology, gastroenterology, surgery and traumatology., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Procryptotermes Holmgren is a modestly diverse kalotermitid genus endemic to numerous islands and archipelagos of the world's tropical oceans (Scheffrahn Křeček 2001). Mainland records from southern India (Bose 1979, Roonwal Chhotani 1963, Thakur 1975), Queensland Australia (Watson and Abbey 1993), and the Yucatan Peninsula (Scheffrahn and Křeček 2001), also approximate oceanic coastlines. The soldier of Procryptotermes is distinguished from most other kalotermitids by long, sickle-shaped mandibles and a rather weak or absent frontal flange or protuberance (Krishna 1961). The winged imago of Procryptotermes is similar to that of Cryptotermes Banks in which the median vein is unsclerotized and intersects the radial sector near mid-wing. Of the fourteen described species of Procryptotermes (Scheffrahn Křeček 2001), only one species, P. dioscurae Harris 1954, lacks a description of the soldier caste. It was described from three winged imagos collected from lights on Socotra Island, Yemen. Unlike soldiers, the imago caste is not present in the colony year round and often lacks species-level diagnostic characters. Therefore, the description of the soldier caste is highly desirable for most termite species.

Forficulitermes planifrons is a monotypic genus and species described by Emerson (1960) from three soldiers and a single worker. All known occurrences of Forficulitermes (Emerson 1960, Wango & Josens 2011, this study) originate from equatorial middle Africa. Emerson (1960) compared soldiers of Forficulitermes with Basidentitermes, Proboscitermes, Orthotermes, Profastigitermes, and Fastigitermes, (the latter all in the Cubitermitinae) with respect to the general shape of the labrum, but found no similarities among these genera with respect to either the former's mandibles or the undulating profile surrounding its fontanelle. The only worker morphology noted for F. planifrons by Emerson (1960) was a pair of worn mandibles. Based largely on the enteric valve armature, we herein redescribe F. planifrons and assign this genus to the subfamily Termitinae.

Species of neotropical Apicotermitinae (Termitidae) are soldierless, restricting species identification in this group to workers or seasonally present winged imagos. All neotropical Apicotermitinae were placed in the genus Anoplotermes, until Mathews (1977) described two new genera, Grigiotermes and Ruptitermes. Fontes (1986) described two more genera, Aparatermes and Tetimatermes. Twenty years passed without any taxonomic advances in this group until Scheffrahn et al. 2006 described two new Anoplotermes species from the West Indies and Bourguignon et al. 2010 described Longustitermes manni, (=Anoplotermes manni Snyder), Anoplotermes janus, and placed six other species into synonymy. Finally, Scheffrahn 2013 described a new genus and species, Compositermes vindai, characterized by a ring of sclerotized paddles at the junction of the enteric valve seating (EVS) and paunch (P3).