Male genital injuries treated at a tertiary hospital in the western region of Nepal: A two-year snapshot.

Background: Male genital injuries are urological emergencies which if not promptly treated with correct therapeutic intervention may lead to loss of fertility due to infections and anatomical disruption of normalcy. This study highlights the clinical scenarios, etiology and outcome of male genital injury cases that were managed at a tertiary care center in Nepal. Such injuries are not frequently encountered as patients are hesitant to report such injuries. The present study is the first from Nepal which depicts a comprehensive report on male genital injuries. Methods: A retrospective analysis of discharge summaries of the cases of male genital injuries was reviewed during June 2020. All the treated cases during the two-year period from April 2018 to April 2020 at Lumbini Medical College, Nepal were included in the study. Results: There were eight cases of genital trauma admitted and treated during the study period. All the patients were males and age ranged from six to 71 years with a mean age of 33 ± 21.45 years. Fall injury and road traffic accidents (RTA) were observed to be the primary cause in the majority of cases. Conclusion: Superficial injuries to the penis and scrotum do not require surgical exploration and could be managed conservatively. However, deeper and complicated injuries, testicular preservation, the functionality of the part and cosmetic issues are taken into consideration which might require a multi-disciplinary approach. Apart from the medical issues pertaining to genital injuries, there are legal and psychological aspects of such events too which should not be ignored.

Doubts about the validity of the species name Hipparchia hermione (Linnaeus, 1764), it being associated with the two species Hipparchia alcyone ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) and Hipparchia genava (Fruhstorfer, 1908) following the designation of a lectotype by Kudrna (1977) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae, Satyrinae) - First part -

In 1977, Otakar Kudrna (*1939-†2021, obituary see Balletto and Leigheb, 2021) published his “Revision of the Genus Hipparchia”, where he classified all the known species and forms of this genus according to characters of wings, androconia, male genital armatures and further subjective criteria. Until today, Kudrna’s study is considered as the guideline of systematics of the genus Hipparchia. He selected there a lectotype specimen of a Rock Grayling male in the Linnaean collection. “Hipparchia hermione Linnaeus, 1764” is therefore, at the moment, the technically correct name to identify the species. The “International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature” (ICZN) has nothing to add at this point; it only comments on cases submitted to it in the Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. Within the meaning of the present study and in accordance with Verity (1913), this damaged specimen without abdomen represents the same species as Ignaz Schiffermüller – allegedly the only author of the Vienna directory (see Kudrna and B., 2005, p. 5) – has described under H. alcyone from the Vienna region by referring to a coloured copper engraving published by Rösel von Rosenhof (1755). Kudrna’s “Revision” became the starting point of an extended scientific research activity during my free time containing, as a matter of priority, the examination of problem cases of systematics by checking the preimaginal characters of many rearing series from different sites. It turned out that a number of classifications proposed by Kudrna (1977) had to be reassessed as soon as characters of the pre-imaginal stages were available. The most complex case I have verified concerned the third European Grayling species which Leraut (1990) introduced under the name of Hipparchia genava (Fruhstorfer, 1908). Kudrna (1977) failed to separate this species from H. alcyone (D. & S., 1775). Throughout his life, he never agreed with Leraut’s opinion. In recent years, Kudrna had hoped that genetic examinations would make redundant every rearing attempt by amateur lepidopterists and furnish the proof that his opinion was the correct one. Since he never undertook any rearing experiments, his systematics were based only on prepared imagines being housed in museum collections. He saw himself as a person with the competency to decide within a few minutes upon complex questions of taxonomy and ignored completely the assessments of others. For verifying the effective rank of H. genava, I had to examine also the two most closely related species: Hipparchia fagi and H. alcyone by rearing them all ex ovo with material from several widely spaced sites. Already on finalising my rearing work of this group, it became apparent that Leraut (1990) had been on the absolutely right path by accepting a third Grayling species, within this group. For the first time, I published the results of my rearing attempts between 2002 and 2006 in several articles in the quarterly bulletin Linneana Belgica and I readily provided information on this case to interested colleagues. Over time only, I realized that the Rock Grayling I knew from the volume on butterflies (Diurna) by Forster and Wohlfahrt (1955) as from the guides by Higgins and Riley (1970-84) under the name of H. alcyone had become H. hermione, because of the lectotype designation by Kudrna (1977). A stony path was in front of me to substantiate the factual correctness of the view taken by Leraut (1990). Complex clarifications by Peter Russell furnished well-founded arguments on the complex scientific issue why the use of the name “hermione Linnaeus, 1764” should be rejected for the Rock Grayling previously known as H. alcyone.

Zoon Balanitis and Lichen Sclerosus: An Uncommon Association

Zoon balanitis and lichen sclerosus are both chronic inflammatory disorders of the genital mucosa that usually affect middle-aged or elderly uncircumcised men.Although the precise etiology of Zoon balanitis is still unclear, a pathogenic role of irritant and mechanical factors has been suggested. Therefore, foreskin sclerosis and phimosis caused by male genital lichen sclerosus may trigger the development of Zoon balanitis. However, until the present, only three cases with clinical and histopathologic features consistent with synchronous presentation of both disorders have been described. We report the case of a 70-year-old male who developed Zoon balanitis in association with lichen sclerosus, that cleared only after circumcision.

[New phreatic and stygobitic hydrobiids from the Northern Apennines in Piedmont, Liguria and Emilia-Romagna (Gastropoda: Caenogastropoda: Hydrobiidae)]

Five new species of phreatic and stygobitic hydrobiids are here described for the Ligurian- Piedmontese and Emilian Apennines. Two species belong to the genus Alzoniella: Alzoniella borberensis n. sp., endemic to the sub-basin of the Borbera and Spinti streams, and to the lower stretch of the Scrivia stream, in the province of Alessandria, and Alzoniella isoensis n. sp., limited to the middle course of the Scrivia stream and to the basin of the Polcevera stream, on the Tyrrhenian sector of the Genoa province. Three species belong to the genus Fissuria: Fissuria globosa n. sp., widespread throughout the sub-basin of the Scrivia stream (Genoa and Alessandria provinces), as well as in other Apennine watercourses of the provinces of Alessandria, Piacenza, Parma and Reggio Emilia; Fissuria varicosa n. sp., present in the same area of Alzoniella borberensis n. sp., but also found in the Nure and Arda streams (Piacenza province) and in the Stirone stream (Parma province), and Fissuria sossoi n. sp., limited to the sub-basin of the Stura di Ovada streams (Genoa province). The first species, assigned to the genus Alzoniella Giusti & Bodon 1984 based on its anatomical characters, has a shell with peristome detached from the last whorl, such as that of other phreatic species already known for eastern Liguria and central Italy, but differs from these in the shorter shell. The shape of the shell of A. borberensis n. sp. resembles that of other crenal or stygobitic species, widespread in northern Italy. A. isoensis n. sp., is very similar to A. borberensis, although the peristome is not sinuous superiorly on the outer edge of the shell, but differs sharply in the anatomical characters. The other taxa with valvatoid shells here described, can be ascribed to the genus Fissuria Boeters 1981 based on their anatomical characters, and show some peculiarities of the male genital tract that distinguish them from the other congeneric species so far known for southern Europe. The three new species of Fissuria differ mainly in the characters of the shell, more or less globose in F. globosa n. sp., more conical in F. sossoi n. sp. and more flattened in F. varicosa n. sp.; the latter is also characterized by the presence of a marked varix behind the peristome. Altogether, these new species can be defined as phreatic, as they colonize groundwater near watercourses; only A. isoensis n. sp. has a wider ecology, as it also lives in karst groundwater and groundwater in rocks permeable by fracking. [Article in Italian]

A reappraisal of the taxonomy of Neotropical Sialidae (Insecta: Megaloptera): with the description of a new genus from Cuba

The unique Neotropical species of the alderfly genus Protosialis van der Weele, 1909, P. bifasciata (Hagen, 1861), is herein transferred to the newly described genus Caribesialis gen. nov. This new taxon is proposed to be sister to the clade Protosialis + Sialis Latreille, 1802, after a phylogenetic analysis that included male genital characters scored on a previous morphological matrix of the family. Also, Ilyobius nigrocephalus sp. nov., a remarkable new species from Ecuador, is described and its phylogenetic position is discussed. Furthermore, Ilyobius bimaculatus (Banks, 1920) from Bolivia, known solely from the female holotype, is redescribed. Based on the present study, the Neotropical fauna of Sialidae is proposed to be constituted by two genera, one insular (Cuba) and one continental (Mexico to Chile and Argentina).