Bat Wing Research Articles

Differential expression of Meis2, Mab21l2 and Tbx3 during limb development associated with diversification of limb morphology in mammals.

Bats are the only mammals capable of self-powered flight using wings. Differing from mouse or human limbs, four elongated digits within a broad wing membrane support the bat wing, and the foot of the bat has evolved a long calcar that spread the interfemoral membrane. Our recent mRNA sequencing (mRNA-Seq) study found unique expression patterns for genes at the 5′ end of the Hoxd gene cluster and for Tbx3 that are associated with digit elongation and wing membrane growth in bats. In this study, we focused on two additional genes, Meis2 and Mab21l2, identified from the mRNA-Seq data. Using whole-mount in situ hybridization (WISH) we validated the mRNA-Seq results for differences in the expression patterns of Meis2 and Mab21l2 between bat and mouse limbs, and further characterize the timing and location of the expression of these two genes. These analyses suggest that Meis2 may function in wing membrane growth and Mab21l2 may have a role in AP and DV axial patterning. In addition, we found that Tbx3 is uniquely expressed in the unique calcar structure found in the bat hindlimb, suggesting a role for this gene in calcar growth and elongation. Moreover, analysis of the coding sequences for Meis2, Mab21l2 and Tbx3 showed that Meis2 and Mab21l2 have high sequence identity, consistent with the functions of genes being conserved, but that Tbx3 showed accelerated evolution in bats. However, evidence for positive selection in Tbx3 was not found, which would suggest that the function of this gene has not been changed. Together, our findings support the hypothesis that the modulation of the spatiotemporal expression patterns of multiple functional conserved genes control limb morphology and drive morphological change in the diversification of mammalian limbs.

Clonal expansion of the Pseudogymnoascus destructans genotype in North America is accompanied by significant variation in phenotypic expression.

Pseudogymnoascus destructans is the causative agent of an emerging infectious disease that threatens populations of several North American bat species. The fungal disease was first observed in 2006 and has since caused the death of nearly six million bats. The disease, commonly known as white-nose syndrome, is characterized by a cutaneous infection with P. destructans causing erosions and ulcers in the skin of nose, ears and/or wings of bats. Previous studies based on sequences from eight loci have found that isolates of P. destructans from bats in the US all belong to one multilocus genotype. Using the same multilocus sequence typing method, we found that isolates from eastern and central Canada also had the same genotype as those from the US, consistent with the clonal expansion of P. destructans into Canada. However, our PCR fingerprinting revealed that among the 112 North American isolates we analyzed, three, all from Canada, showed minor genetic variation. Furthermore, we found significant variations among isolates in mycelial growth rate; the production of mycelial exudates; and pigment production and diffusion into agar media. These phenotypic differences were influenced by culture medium and incubation temperature, indicating significant variation in environmental condition - dependent phenotypic expression among isolates of the clonal P. destructans genotype in North America.

Nonlethal screening of bat-wing skin with the use of ultraviolet fluorescence to detect lesions indicative of white-nose syndrome.

Definitive diagnosis of the bat disease white-nose syndrome (WNS) requires histologic analysis to identify the cutaneous erosions caused by the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus [formerly Geomyces] destructans (Pd). Gross visual inspection does not distinguish bats with or without WNS, and no nonlethal, on-site, preliminary screening methods are available for WNS in bats. We demonstrate that long-wave ultraviolet (UV) light (wavelength 366-385 nm) elicits a distinct orange-yellow fluorescence in bat-wing membranes (skin) that corresponds directly with the fungal cupping erosions in histologic sections of skin that are the current gold standard for diagnosis of WNS. Between March 2009 and April 2012, wing membranes from 168 North American bat carcasses submitted to the US Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center were examined with the use of both UV light and histology. Comparison of these techniques showed that 98.8% of the bats with foci of orange-yellow wing fluorescence (n=80) were WNS-positive based on histologic diagnosis; bat wings that did not fluoresce under UV light (n=88) were all histologically negative for WNS lesions. Punch biopsy samples as small as 3 mm taken from areas of wing with UV fluorescence were effective for identifying lesions diagnostic for WNS by histopathology. In a nonlethal biopsy-based study of 62 bats sampled (4-mm diameter) in hibernacula of the Czech Republic during 2012, 95.5% of fluorescent (n=22) and 100% of nonfluorescent (n=40) wing samples were confirmed by histopathology to be WNS positive and negative, respectively. This evidence supports use of long-wave UV light as a nonlethal and field-applicable method to screen bats for lesions indicative of WNS. Further, UV fluorescence can be used to guide targeted, nonlethal biopsy sampling for follow-up molecular testing, fungal culture analysis, and histologic confirmation of WNS.

Unique expression patterns of multiple key genes associated with the evolution of mammalian flight

Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight. Critical adaptations for flight include a pair of dramatically elongated hands with broad wing membranes. To study the molecular mechanisms of bat wing evolution, we perform genomewide mRNA sequencing and in situ hybridization for embryonic bat limbs. We identify seven key genes that display unique expression patterns in embryonic bat wings and feet, compared with mouse fore- and hindlimbs. The expression of all 5'HoxD genes (Hoxd9-13) and Tbx3, six known crucial transcription factors for limb and digit development, is extremely high and prolonged in the elongating wing area. The expression of Fam5c, a tumour suppressor, in bat limbs is bat-specific and significantly high in all short digit regions (the thumb and foot digits). These results suggest multiple genetic changes occurred independently during the evolution of bat wings to elongate the hand digits, promote membrane growth and keep other digits short. Our findings also indicate that the evolution of limb morphology depends on the complex integration of multiple gene regulatory networks and biological processes that control digit formation and identity, chondrogenesis, and interdigital regression or retention.

Leading edge vortices in lesser long-nosed bats occurring at slow but not fast flight speeds

Slow and hovering animal flight creates high demands on the lift production of animal wings. Steady state aerodynamics is unable to explain the forces required and the most commonly used mechanism to enhance the lift production is a leading edge vortex (LEV). Although LEVs increase the lift, they come at the cost of high drag. Here we determine the flow above the wing of lesser long-nosed bats at slow and cruising speed using particle image velocimetry (PIV). We find that a prominent LEV is present during the downstroke at slow speed, but not at cruising speed. Comparison with previously published LEV data from a robotic flapper inspired by lesser long-nosed bats suggests that bats should be able to generate LEVs at cruising speeds, but that they avoid doing so, probably to increase flight efficiency. In addition, at slow flight speeds we find LEVs of opposite spin at the inner and outer wing during the upstroke, potentially providing a control challenge to the animal. We also note that the LEV stays attached to the wing throughout the downstoke and does not show the complex structures found in insects. This suggests that bats are able to control the development of the LEV and potential control mechanisms are discussed.

Membrane muscle function in the compliant wings of bats

Unlike flapping birds and insects, bats possess membrane wings that are more similar to many gliding mammals. The vast majority of the wing is composed of a thin compliant skin membrane stretched between the limbs, hand, and body. Membrane wings are of particular interest because they may offer many advantages to micro air vehicles. One critical feature of membrane wings is that they camber passively in response to aerodynamic load, potentially allowing for simplified wing control. However, for maximum membrane wing performance, tuning of the membrane structure to aerodynamic conditions is necessary. Bats possess an array of muscles, the plagiopatagiales proprii, embedded within the wing membrane that could serve to tune membrane stiffness, or may have alternative functions. We recorded the electromyogram from the plagiopatagiales proprii muscles of Artibeus jamaicensis, the Jamaican fruit bat, in flight at two different speeds and found that these muscles were active during downstroke. For both low- and high-speed flight, muscle activity increased between late upstroke and early downstroke and decreased at late downstroke. Thus, the array of plagiopatagiales may provide a mechanism for bats to increase wing stiffness and thereby reduce passive membrane deformation. These muscles also activate in synchrony, presumably as a means to maximize force generation, because each muscle is small and, by estimation, weak. Small differences in activation timing were observed when comparing low- and high-speed flight, which may indicate that bats modulate membrane stiffness differently depending on flight speed.

How wing kinematics affect power requirements and aerodynamic force production in a robotic bat wing

Bats display a wide variety of behaviors that require different amounts of aerodynamic force. To control and modulate aerodynamic force, bats change wing kinematics, which, in turn, may change the power required for wing motion. There are many kinematic mechanisms that bats, and other flapping animals, can use to increase aerodynamic force, e.g. increasing wingbeat frequency or amplitude. However, we do not know if there is a difference in energetic cost between these different kinematic mechanisms. To assess the relationship between mechanical power input and aerodynamic force output across different isolated kinematic parameters, we programmed a robotic bat wing to flap over a range of kinematic parameters and measured aerodynamic force and mechanical power. We systematically varied five kinematic parameters: wingbeat frequency, wingbeat amplitude, stroke plane angle, downstroke ratio, and wing folding. Kinematic values were based on observed values from free flying Cynopterus brachyotis, the species on which the robot was based. We describe how lift, thrust, and power change with increases in each kinematic variable. We compare the power costs associated with generating additional force through the four kinematic mechanisms controlled at the shoulder, and show that all four mechanisms require approximately the same power to generate a given force. This result suggests that no single parameter offers an energetic advantage over the others. Finally, we show that retracting the wing during upstroke reduces power requirements for flapping and increases net lift production, but decreases net thrust production. These results compare well with studies performed on C. brachyotis, offering insight into natural flight kinematics.

Upper arm contouring with brachioplasty after massive weight loss.

BackgroundAs the obese population increases in Korea, the number of patients who are trying to lose weight has been increasing steadily. In these patients, skin laxity and deformation of the body contour occurs, which could possibly be corrected by various body contouring surgeries. Here, we introduce the brachioplasty method and our experience of various body contouring surgeries performed in our center.MethodsFrom November 2009 to August 2011, five cases of brachioplasty were performed. When the patient presented with sagging of the lateral inframammary crease and bat wing deformity in the axilla, extended brachioplasty was performed; in this case, the deformation of the axilla and lateral chest was corrected at the same time. A traditional brachioplasty was performed when contouring was needed only for skin laxity in the upper arm.ResultsComplications, such as hematomas or nerve injuries, were not evident. Some patients experienced partial wound dehiscence due to tension or hypertrophic scars found during the follow-up. In general, all of the patients were satisfied with the improvement in their upper arm contour.ConclusionsGiven the demands for body contouring surgery, the number of brachioplasty surgical procedures is expected to increase significantly, with abdominoplasty comprising a large portion of these surgeries. For the brachioplasty procedure, preparation and preoperative consultation regarding design of the surgery by experienced surgeons was important to prevent complications such as nerve damage or hematoma formation.

Batting cage performance of wood and nonwood youth baseball bats.

The purpose of this study was to examine the batting cage performance of wood and nonwood baseball bats used at the youth level. Three wood and ten nonwood bats were swung by 22 male players (13 to 18 years old) in a batting cage equipped with a 3-dimensional motion capture (300 Hz) system. Batted ball speeds were compared using a one-way ANOVA and bat swing speeds were analyzed as a function of bat moment of inertia by linear regression. Batted ball speeds were significantly faster for three nonwood bat models (P<.001), significantly slower for one nonwood model, and not different for six nonwood bats when compared with wood bats. Bat impact speed significantly (P<.05) decreased with increasing bat moment of inertia for the 13-, 14-, and 15-year-old groups, but not for the other age groups. Ball-bat coefficients of restitution (BBCOR) for all nonwood were greater than for wood, but this factor alone did not correlate with bat performance. Our findings indicate that increases in BBCOR and swing speed were not associated with faster batted ball speeds for the bats studied whose moment of inertia was substantially less than that of a wood bat of similar length.

Straight-line climbing flight aerodynamics of a fruit bat

From flight data obtained on a fruit bat, Cynopterus brachyotis, a kinematic model for straight-line flapping motion is extracted and analyzed in a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) framework to gain insight into the complexity of bat flight. The intricate functional mechanics and architecture of the bat wings set it apart from other vertebrate flight. The extracted kinematic model is simulated for a range of Reynolds numbers, to observe the effect these phenomena have on the unsteady transient mechanisms of the flow produced by the flapping wings. The Strouhal number calculated from the data is high indicating that the oscillatory motion dominates the flow physics. From the obtained data, the bat exhibits fine control of its mechanics by actively varying wing camber, wing area, torsional rotation of the wing, forward and backward translational sweep of the wing, and wing conformation to dictate the fluid dynamics. As is common in flapping flight, the primary force generation is through the attached unsteady vortices on the wing surface. The bat through varying the wing camber and the wing area modulates this force output. The power requirement for the kinematics is analyzed and correlated with the aerodynamic performance.

Wing morphology of Neotropical bats: a quantitative and qualitative analysis with implications for habitat use

Wing morphology has a direct influence on the flight manoeuvrability, agility, and speed of bats. Studies addressing the relationship between bat wing morphology and ecology are biased towards Old World species and few of them have addressed the ecologically rich Amazonian bat fauna. We quantitatively and qualitatively characterized the wing shape of 51 bat species found in the Brazilian Amazonia by measuring their aspect ratio (AR) and relative wing load (RWL). We found a high variability in wing shape: AR varied from 5.0862 (pygmy round-eared bat, Lophostoma brasiliense (Peters, 1866)) to 8.2774 (brown dog-faced bat, Molossus (Cynomops) paranus (Thomas, 1901)), while RWL varied from 20.0459 (spectral bat, Vampyrum spectrum (L., 1758)) to 55.3931 (Pallas’s mastiff, Molossus molossus (Pallas, 1766)). Insectivores had the largest variability, whereas frugivores and nectarivores had intermediate values with lower variability, indicating a higher flexibility in the use of space and resources. Our predictions on flight patterns are supported by capture and behavioural data from the literature, both of which point to the use of wing shape as a good proxy for habitat use and food partitioning among species. Our data are useful for integrative studies in ecology, physiology, behaviour, and evolution, and can contribute to a better understanding of the ecological interactions of Neotropical bat species.

Rotator Cuff Vortex

top photo : dan zelazo author photo : james rudy 40 worldliteraturetoday.org for Tim Kelly When the TV played above the bar, I faked my interest in the game – it was the bodies I wanted to tell the stories. Like the story Tim told of Darryl Stingley: there was a photo of him playing in his obituary, leaping for the football in a perfect arabesque (this before the hit that cut his spinal cord). On Friday nights, Tim and his friends throw The Vortex Ball in the bookstore parking lot, although Tim threw his shoulder out, and now the game is on hold until the surgeon finds the time to cut Tim’s rotator cuff and reattach the fittings. The body tells a story mostly about loss (all, in Stingley’s case). And still the ball exerts a pull: the men strain toward it when the TV’s playing, transfixing the dog as well, who goes crazy playing fetch, and will retrieve as long as anyone can be coerced to throw, a drive inbred and neural, although the ball is, in the dog’s case, a stand-in for some specimen of game – by what gene does the compulsion travel? In the epic story of the Mayans, the heroes get their necks cut by the wings of bats down in the underworld, so that their cut heads can bounce off the hips of the death-lords playing a game simply called “the ball game” – naturally, the story ends with the heroes resurrected, then thrown into the sky to become the moon and sun. Scholars call the game a way of ritualizing war, blood not entirely averted by the ball since the losers were beheaded, skulls racked like bowling balls in the upperworld arena. I have seen depictions of this cut into the stones of Chichén Itzá, where you can hear the game still roaring from the dusty court, although the playing died five hundred years ago. Also carved there is the throne, or chac-mool, and the king lounging on it, though this story is debated: could be any doofus spectating. And what’s the story behind his enthrallment with the ball – do all round things have gravity, no matter if they’re thrown by men or spin of their own accord in space, orbs cut from bigger orbs in a motion picture that’s been playing ever since The Bang? And we take our miniscule positions in the game. Forever after, Stingley sat in the throne of his chair, uncomplaining, probably dumbstruck: when your old life cuts out and a story takes over that’s all a game played by the ball on your neck. Lucia Perillo’s sixth book of poems, On the Spectrum of Possible Deaths (2012), was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her previous book, Inseminating the Elephant, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and won the Bobbitt Prize from the Library of Congress. In 2012 she also published a book of short stories, Happiness Is a Chemical in the Brain, shortlisted for the 2013 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize. Rotator Cuff Vortex Lucia Perillo special section ...

Rotator Cuff Vortex

top photo : dan zelazo author photo : james rudy 40 worldliteraturetoday.org for Tim Kelly When the TV played above the bar, I faked my interest in the game – it was the bodies I wanted to tell the stories. Like the story Tim told of Darryl Stingley: there was a photo of him playing in his obituary, leaping for the football in a perfect arabesque (this before the hit that cut his spinal cord). On Friday nights, Tim and his friends throw The Vortex Ball in the bookstore parking lot, although Tim threw his shoulder out, and now the game is on hold until the surgeon finds the time to cut Tim’s rotator cuff and reattach the fittings. The body tells a story mostly about loss (all, in Stingley’s case). And still the ball exerts a pull: the men strain toward it when the TV’s playing, transfixing the dog as well, who goes crazy playing fetch, and will retrieve as long as anyone can be coerced to throw, a drive inbred and neural, although the ball is, in the dog’s case, a stand-in for some specimen of game – by what gene does the compulsion travel? In the epic story of the Mayans, the heroes get their necks cut by the wings of bats down in the underworld, so that their cut heads can bounce off the hips of the death-lords playing a game simply called “the ball game” – naturally, the story ends with the heroes resurrected, then thrown into the sky to become the moon and sun. Scholars call the game a way of ritualizing war, blood not entirely averted by the ball since the losers were beheaded, skulls racked like bowling balls in the upperworld arena. I have seen depictions of this cut into the stones of Chichén Itzá, where you can hear the game still roaring from the dusty court, although the playing died five hundred years ago. Also carved there is the throne, or chac-mool, and the king lounging on it, though this story is debated: could be any doofus spectating. And what’s the story behind his enthrallment with the ball – do all round things have gravity, no matter if they’re thrown by men or spin of their own accord in space, orbs cut from bigger orbs in a motion picture that’s been playing ever since The Bang? And we take our miniscule positions in the game. Forever after, Stingley sat in the throne of his chair, uncomplaining, probably dumbstruck: when your old life cuts out and a story takes over that’s all a game played by the ball on your neck. Lucia Perillo’s sixth book of poems, On the Spectrum of Possible Deaths (2012), was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her previous book, Inseminating the Elephant, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and won the Bobbitt Prize from the Library of Congress. In 2012 she also published a book of short stories, Happiness Is a Chemical in the Brain, shortlisted for the 2013 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize. Rotator Cuff Vortex Lucia Perillo special section ...

Joubert syndrome - A case report with classical MRI features

Joubert syndrome a rare disorder characterized by malformation of the mid- and hindbrain. Here we report a classical case of Joubert syndrome in a 2-year-old boy who presented with respiratory irregularities, hypotonia, and developmental delays. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain showed the molar tooth sign with bat wing appearance of fourth ventricle.

Morphing Models of a Bat Wing in Flapping Flight

Kinematic models, which contain flapping and deformations, of a bat flapping wing when it flies at medium speeds are presented in the study. The deformations include cambering - morphing in the chordwise direction, bending - morphing in the spanwise direction and twisting respecting angles of attack (AOA) varying along the length of the wing. In the study, we assumed a circular-arc-shaped deformation when cambering or bending occurs, and introduced controlling parameters for each morphing. Then we showed the expressions of the controlling parameters varying with time at the bat flight speed of 3m/s according to the data provided by a literature, and verified the reasonability of the assumptions at last.

The Serpent and the Lamb: Cranach, Luther and the Making of the Reformation, by Steven Ozment

The Serpent and the Lamb: Cranach, Luther and the Making of the Reformation, by Steven Ozment. New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University Press, 2011. x, 325 pp. $35.00 US (cloth). The title of this engaging and delightful book comes from the copyright symbols for two of the monumental characters of the Reformation living in Wittenberg, Germany. Lucas Cranach the Elder was given the symbol of a serpent with bat wings by the elector of Saxony after he was hired as the court artist, while the lamb was one of the logos for Martin Luther, the controversial reformer and thorn in the side of the Roman Catholic church of his day. Ozment weaves a crisp and fetching narrative of the role Cranach played as the main propagandist for Luther's reformation, but his focus is definitely on the artist rather than the theologian. In doing so, the author provides a fascinating glimpse into the of medieval Wittenberg, electoral Saxony, and the ever-changing development of the artist within this context. He touches upon Cranach's personal life, his complex relationship with Roman Catholic and Lutheran patrons, and his connection with another famous artist and craftsman of the time, Albrecht Durer. Two themes develop within the pages of this book. First, Ozment explores Cranach's important role as the propagandist for the Lutheran reformation. Cranach portrays Luther's main theological themes in concrete graphic ways through his art. When combined with his involvement in the publishing business, Cranach disseminated Luther's teachings and reforms in ways that reform-minded individuals of earlier generations would never have imagined. Yet at the same time, he also painted for many Roman Catholic patrons. Cranach was above all pragmatic. At the same time, Ozment argues that the differences between Cranach and Durer reflect the differences between the Reformation and the Renaissance, respectively. The idealized human form portrayed by Durer, common to both the Roman Catholic and Renaissance traditions, are replaced with the transient moments of everyday life (p. 56), so ably portrayed by Cranach. One of the things that helped unite Cranach and Luther in a life-long partnership was how both responded to the threats posed by other, more radical reformers who wanted to get rid of all artwork and images in the churches, insisting that they were idols. For Cranach, such actions would take away a major source of income, since churches were important patrons of the arts. Luther, for his part, felt that such artwork could aid Christian piety, and that it was actually the suppressing of such artwork that turned this decorative art into the very ungodly idols the radical reformers were trying to protect against. As Ozment notes, an imageless faith was impossible (p. 134). When Cranach realized that Luther was not interested in clearing all the artwork from churches, the working relationship between them was cemented. …

Field and laboratory measurements of softball player swing speed and bat performance

The swing speed of the bat is one of the most important factors affecting the hit-ball speed. Most field studies tend to focus on measuring ball speed, which is easier to measure and quantify than bat speed. For this reason, relatively little data exist describing bat motion in field conditions. The following describes a relatively large swing speed field study involving bats of the same model with nearly constant weight and varying inertia. The study was conducted using right-handed batters on a regulation outdoor field with a live pitcher. Swing speed was measured by tracking markers on the bat with two high-speed video cameras so that the bat markers could be traced in three-dimensional space. The ball motion was tracked using the same high-speed video cameras and a three-dimensional Doppler radar system. Bat swing speed was observed to be proportional to the batter skill level and the normalised swing speed increased with decreasing bat inertia. The bat centre of rotation during impact was close to the knob of the bat. The bats were tested under controlled laboratory conditions using a standardised performance test. The field and laboratory results showed good agreement including the hit-ball speed and the subtle effect of bat inertia on the maximum performance location. The vibrational response of the bats was considered using modal analysis. The maximum performance location was correlated with the node of the first vibrational mode.

Psychrophilic and Psychrotolerant Fungi on Bats and the Presence of Geomyces spp. on Bat Wings Prior to the Arrival of White Nose Syndrome

Since 2006, Geomyces destructans, the causative agent of white nose syndrome (WNS), has killed over 5.7 million bats in North America. The current hypothesis suggests that this novel fungus is an invasive species from Europe, but little is known about the diversity within the genus Geomyces and its distribution on bats in the United States. We documented the psychrophilic and psychrotolerant fungal flora of hibernating bats prior to the arrival of WNS using culture-based techniques. A total of 149 cultures, which were obtained from 30 bats in five bat hibernacula located in four caves and one mine, were sequenced for the entire internal transcribed spacer (ITS) nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) region. Approximately 53 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at 97% similarity were recovered from bat wings, with the community dominated by fungi within the genera Cladosporium, Fusarium, Geomyces, Mortierella, Penicillium, and Trichosporon. Eleven Geomyces isolates were obtained and placed in at least seven distinct Geomyces clades based on maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analyses. Temperature experiments revealed that all Geomyces strains isolated are psychrotolerant, unlike G. destructans, which is a true psychrophile. Our results confirm that a large diversity of fungi, including several Geomyces isolates, occurs on bats prior to the arrival of WNS. Most of these isolates were obtained from damaged wings. Additional studies need to be conducted to determine potential ecological roles of these abundant Geomyces strains isolated from bats.

New record, host and localities of bat mite of genusChirnyssoides (Acari, Sarcoptiformes, Sarcoptidae)

Chirnyssoides parasitizes the anterior and posterior edges of bat wing membranes. Possibly due to a lack of studies, its distribution is believed to be restricted to a few countries of Central and South America, but its actual range is probably wider. The purpose of this paper is to report the presence of Chirnyssoides amazonae on the bat Carollia perspicillata in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and to present a checklist of hosts and localities for Chirnyssoides. Eleven females and 22 egg clusters of C. amazonae were collected from 11 individuals of C. perspicillata captured in Tinguá Biological Reserve using mist nets. Our search of the literature came up with 69 records of Chirnyssoides. There are reports of Chirnyssoides caparti, Chirnyssoides amazonae, Chirnyssoides brasiliensis and Chirnyssoides phyllostomus in Brazil. This paper reports the first record of Chirnyssoides amazonae in the state of Rio de Janeiro and the second in Brazil, indicating that their known distribution extends to the south. There are records of C. amazonae and C. surinamensis parasitizing C. perspicillata, but this is the first record of C. amazonae on C. perspicillata in Brazil.

Correlation of static and dynamic trunk muscle endurance and bat swing velocity in high school aged baseball players

BACKGROUND: Trunk muscle endurance training is used by most high school baseball or softball coaches. However, evidence demonstrating a relationship between trunk muscle endurance and batting performance is lacking. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to establish a relationship between trunk muscle endurance and bat swing velocity in a high school baseball team. METHOD: Sixty-one high school (15–18 years old) baseball players, taken from the same team, with 6.5 ± 1.3 years of training experience, participated in the following tests: static trunk flexion/extension endurance tests, dynamic trunk flexion/extension endurance tests and a maximum bat swing velocity test. RESULTS:Bat swing velocity showed significant low-to-moderate negative correlations with static trunkflexor endurance (P = 0.001, r = �0.404), dynamic trunk flexor endurance (P = 0.016, r = �0.308) and the ratio of static flexor/extensor endurance (P = 0.021, r = �0.298). CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the concept that better trunk flexor endurance might not benefit batting performance. Trunk flexor endurance training should not be over-emphasized when the targeted training goal is to enhance bat swing velocity.