Each participating elephant was presented with a transparent box containing fruit. The animals could see and smell the food through small holes in the box, creating an opportunity to reach directly toward the reward. A separate opening on the side provided an indirect route. The elephants learned to inhibit the direct approach and use the side opening instead. In practical terms, the animals had to pass up the most immediate way of obtaining food in order to follow a less direct but effective strategy. Postdoctoral researcher Sydney Hope said the study showed that the elephants could suppress both the impulse to reach directly toward the food behind the transparent barrier and the impulse to continue using a previously effective technique when circumstances changed.

The researchers then rotated the box, relocating the opening. The elephants initially reached toward the position where the opening had been, demonstrating their initial reliance on the previously successful strategy. They were nevertheless able to withhold that response and quickly learn to use the opening in its new location. This stage tested behavioral flexibility: an animal had to recognize that its established response was no longer the appropriate one and alter course rather than continue applying the learned method. Together, the two stages of the detour task showed that the elephants could generally inhibit an immediate food-seeking response and revise an acquired behavior when the environment changed. The result was not presented as evidence that every elephant performed equally or that inhibitory control operates in the same way across every situation.

Age was associated with performance during the adaptation phase: older elephants took longer than younger elephants to adjust to the relocated opening. The researchers said the pattern could point to age-related changes in cognitive flexibility, but they cautioned that additional research is needed to determine whether the difference reflects cognitive decline. The study therefore does not establish that aging reduces inhibitory control. Its conclusions are also bounded by the number of participating animals, the use of one controlled detour task and the specific experimental setting at the National Elephant Institute. The supplied publication record classifies the work as an observational study of animals and reports its publication in PLOS ONE on September 9, 2026.

The experiment adds to a broader body of elephant-cognition research led by Plotnik and his collaborators, which has previously reported that elephants can recognize themselves in mirrors, console distressed companions, coordinate actions with partners and solve novel problems. The new result supplies a focused behavioral measure of the ability to withhold a response and adapt when conditions change. That capability could be relevant to how elephants respond to obstacles, decisions about risk and changing human-dominated environments, but the experiment did not directly test wild behavior or measure whether stronger inhibitory control reduces conflict with people. The authors said further understanding of how elephants make decisions and adapt to environmental change could eventually help researchers design better strategies for human-elephant coexistence. This is a potential conservation application rather than a demonstrated outcome of the study, and further work would be required to connect laboratory cognitive performance with behavior in shared landscapes.

Subject of Research: Inhibitory control and behavioral flexibility in 16 Asian elephants tested in Thailand

Article Title: Researchers find Asian elephants can resist impulsive behavior

Article References: Researchers find Asian elephants can resist impulsive behavior. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: Not provided

Keywords: Asian elephants, inhibitory control, behavioral flexibility, detour task, elephant cognition, decision-making, animal psychology, Thailand, cognitive aging, conservation, Researchers, find

The researchers reconstructed the evolutionary and geographic history of CRF01_AE using viral sequences and Bayesian phylogeographic methods. Their analysis indicates that, after entering Thailand in the early 1980s, CRF01_AE spread across Southeast Asia and into China. Repeated movement across national borders was central to this continental expansion.

The reconstructed history also shows that many lineages circulated for years before detection, revealing substantial cryptic transmission before surveillance recognized them. Once established, transmission clusters persisted for decades and sustained local epidemics long after their initial introduction. These findings demonstrate that the regional spread of CRF01_AE unfolded over many years rather than through a single detectable event.

By showing that viral lineages remained undetected for years and that transmission clusters continued for decades, the study provides a historical context for the emergence of CRF01_AE across Asia. The authors identify early molecular surveillance and coordinated regional strategies as important for detecting emerging lineages and interrupting cross-border transmission.

Subject of Research: Evolutionary and geographic spread of HIV-1 CRF01_AE from Central Africa across Asia

Article Title: Global spread and evolutionary trajectories of HIV-1 CRF01_AE: Insights from phylogenetic analysis

Article References: Li, X., Jorgensen, D., Liu, H., Nie, Q., Bates, C., & Gu, Q. (2026). Global spread and evolutionary trajectories of HIV-1 CRF01_AE: Insights from phylogenetic analysis. PLOS One, 21(10), e0360404. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360404

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0360404

Keywords: HIV-1, CRF01_AE, phylogenetics, Bayesian reconstruction, viral evolution, genome sequencing, molecular surveillance, cross-border transmission, Southeast Asia, China, Thailand, Central Africa

The six isolates came from five types of flowers. Four strains representing P. anthoicola were recovered from ylang-ylang (Cananga odorata), frangipani (Plumeria obtusa) and golden trumpet (Allamanda cathartica) flowers. The other two strains, representing P. floralis, came from Spanish needle (Bidens pilosa) and oncidium (Oncidium sp.) flowers. The authors deposited the strains in culture collections in Thailand and China and registered the new taxa in MycoBank.

Healthy flowers were collected in Chiang Mai and placed in sterile plastic bags, stored at 4 °C and processed within 24 hours. Internal floral material was aseptically suspended in 0.85% saline for 15 minutes and spread onto yeast extract-malt extract agar containing chloramphenicol. After three days at 25 °C, individual colonies were selected and subcultured. Purified strains were preserved long term in 20% glycerol at −80 °C. Morphological examinations covered colony appearance, cell structure, budding, capsule formation, pseudohyphae or true hyphae, and production of basidiospores across seven culture media.

The researchers also tested carbon and nitrogen assimilation, glucose fermentation, acid production, growth at six temperatures, tolerance of high glucose and sodium chloride concentrations, and resistance to cycloheximide. For phylogenetics, they sequenced the internal transcribed spacer region, the D1/D2 domains of large-subunit ribosomal DNA and the protein-coding genes rpb1, rpb2 and tef1-α. The concatenated dataset included 63 representatives of Rhynchogastremataceae and the outgroup Kwoniella mangrovensis CBS 8507.

Maximum-likelihood and Bayesian analyses produced similar tree topologies. Both supported division of the six isolates into two lineages with 100% maximum-likelihood bootstrap support and a Bayesian posterior probability of 1.0. The two lineages were sister taxa and clustered closely with P. pollinicola and P. rajasthanensis. The new species differed from each other by 1.19% in the ITS region, corresponding to six nucleotide substitutions, and by 0% in the D1/D2 domains. Greater separation occurred in the three protein-coding genes: 2.85% in rpb1, 5.34% in rpb2 and 5.90% in tef1-α.

Although the ITS and D1/D2 divergences were below proposed species-delimitation thresholds for basidiomycetous yeasts, the multilocus results were considered together with observed differences in morphology, carbon-source use and physiology. P. anthoicola produced circular, yellowish-white colonies measuring 2.0–3.0 mm in diameter after five days on yeast extract-malt extract agar at 25 °C. Its ovoid to ellipsoidal cells measured 2.63–5.78 by 4.48–7.79 μm, showed polar budding and had extracellular capsules 0.47–1.63 μm thick. Elongated cells and chains developed on potato dextrose agar after two weeks, while neither pseudohyphae nor true hyphae formed.

P. floralis produced yellowish-white colonies measuring 3.0–4.0 mm in diameter after five days, with a smooth, glistening and viscous appearance. Its ovoid to ellipsoidal cells measured 2.40–4.31 by 3.54–6.91 μm, showed multilateral budding and had capsules 0.53–1.93 μm thick. Under the reported culture conditions, it formed neither elongated cells nor pseudohyphae or true hyphae. Basidiospores were not obtained for either species after one month at 25 °C on the seven media tested.

Both species were negative for glucose fermentation and did not assimilate potassium nitrate or sodium nitrite. Neither grew on vitamin-free medium, medium containing 16% sodium chloride with 5% glucose, or media containing 0.01% or 0.1% cycloheximide. P. anthoicola grew weakly on media containing 50% and 60% glucose and grew at 37 °C. P. floralis grew on both high-glucose media but not at 37 °C. The species also differed in their carbon-source utilization and acid-production profiles. Their holotypes were registered as CMUB40150 and CMUB40151, with ex-type cultures SDBR-CMU883 and SDBR-CMU888, respectively.

The findings increase the number of known Papiliotrema species recorded in Thailand from 16 to 18 and the number reported from flowers there from five to seven. The study was limited to six isolates from flowers collected in one province in one sampling year, so it did not establish either species’ broader geographic distribution or characterize flower-associated yeast diversity across northern Thailand. The authors noted that whole-genome sequencing and average nucleotide identity analysis could provide further support for the placement of these closely related strains.

Subject of Research: Polyphasic identification of two new flower-associated Papiliotrema species in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand

Article Title: Two novel species of Papiliotrema ( Rhynchogastremataceae , Tremellales ) isolated from flowers in northern Thailand

Article References: Kathongthung, C., Kodchasee, P., Singsalood, S., Senwanna, C., Khunnamwong, P., Kumla, J., & Suwannarach, N. (2026). Two novel species of Papiliotrema (Rhynchogastremataceae, Tremellales) isolated from flowers in northern Thailand. MycoKeys, 137, 199-222. https://doi.org/10.3897/mycokeys.137.199289

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/mycokeys.137.199289

Keywords: Papiliotrema, new yeast species, anthophilous yeasts, flower-associated fungi, Chiang Mai, Thailand, multilocus phylogeny, fungal taxonomy, polyphasic taxonomy, novel, species, Rhynchogastremataceae

The samples came from three Aedes aegypti breeding areas in Mueang District: Mum Pom Temple communities, Bun Na Rop Temple communities and Ban Na Kian communities. At each area, three larval and three water samples were collected from sub-sites at least 500 m apart. Each larval sample pooled 300–400 third- and fourth-instar larvae, while each water sample comprised 500 ml pooled from three to five containers. Containers included tyres, plastic containers, ceramic vases and glass bottles. Larvae were identified in the field using locomotion and siphon shape, and only guts with an intact peritrophic membrane were dissected for analysis.

Researchers used light microscopy to examine the morphology of algae isolated from larval guts and breeding water. At least 10 genera were identifiable microscopically across the samples: Ankistrodesmus, Bracteacoccus, Chloromonas, Eudorina, Leptolyngbya, Monoraphidium, Nannochloropsis, Pediastrum, Tetradesmus and Selenastrum. The observations included unicellular, colonial and filamentous cyanobacteria, green algae and diatoms. Both microscopy and molecular sequencing were therefore used because closely similar morphologies can be difficult to distinguish reliably.

For molecular analysis, the investigators amplified the 23S ribosomal DNA marker and conducted paired-end Illumina MiSeq sequencing. After demultiplexing and quality filtering, the dataset contained 308,514 sequences. Of these, 31,447 were unassigned or could not be identified to genus, leaving 277,067 sequences assigned to 25 algal genera and diatoms in the order Achnanthales. That total comprised 136,547 sequences from larval guts and 140,520 from breeding water. Taxonomy was assigned with a naïve Bayes classifier using the µgreen-db reference database, and samples were restricted to 16,447–17,212 sequences for comparisons of relative abundance and diversity.

The most abundant taxa across the metabarcoding dataset were Tetradesmus, Nannochloropsis, Leptolyngbya, Parachlorella and Monoraphidium. Tetradesmus and Leptolyngbya occurred in all 18 samples, although their relative abundance varied substantially among sites. For example, Tetradesmus accounted for 87.36% of the assigned larval-gut reads at sample MP1 and 48.90% at MP3, while Leptolyngbya represented 60.04% of the larval-gut reads at MP2 and 81.09% of the breeding-water reads from that sample. These observations show substantial variation among individual samples rather than a uniform community profile across the three locations.

Most taxa detected in larval guts were also present in the corresponding breeding water. Genus-level sequence counts in the two sample types showed a strong positive correlation, with Spearman’s ρ of 0.84 and P below 0.001. The study did not directly observe feeding events or determine the proportion of the surrounding algal community ingested by any individual larva, so the association does not establish complete consumption of the entire community.

Alpha-diversity measures did not differ significantly between larval guts and water from the same sites. Paired tests for operational taxonomic unit richness, Chao1 richness, Shannon’s Index and Simpson’s Index produced P values of at least 0.18. Across samples, algal OTU counts ranged from 22 to 246, Chao1 values from 23.50 to 267.48, Shannon’s Index from 0.69 to 3.59 and Simpson’s Index from 0.28 to 0.93. These results indicate similar measured diversity in the two sample types, rather than equivalence in every individual sample.

Community composition likewise showed no statistically significant difference by source, location or their interaction. Bray–Curtis-based principal coordinate analysis accounted for 46.42% of the total variance across its first two axes. PERMANOVA results were P = 0.99 for source, P = 0.09 for sampling location and P = 1.00 for the source-by-location interaction. Water temperature ranged from 25.6 °C to 33.5 °C across the locations, and pH ranged from 6.98 to 8.34. Because only three locations and pooled third- and fourth-instar larvae were studied, the results do not resolve differences among individual larval instars, containers or locations in more extensive sampling.

Both identification approaches had limited taxonomic resolution: neither microscopy nor the chosen metabarcoding analysis identified algae to species level. The authors attributed limited assignment partly to insufficient sequence variation, short amplicons and gaps or inaccuracies in reference databases. The study also did not compare water from containers with and without mosquito larvae, so it cannot determine whether the presence of larvae altered algal composition. The authors said the results may help guide selection of algal strains for further investigation as biological-control agents or eco-friendly products for mosquito larvae, but the study did not test larvicidal efficacy or establish human health benefits.

Subject of Research: Microalgal diversity in Aedes aegypti larval guts and breeding sites in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

Article Title: Microalgae diversity in Aedes aegypti larvae guts and breeding sites in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand revealed by light microscopy and metabarcoding

Article References: Promprao, J., Sanevas, N., Kraichak, E., Saraphol, S., Klankeo, P., Kaewmee, S., Mano, C., Soe, B. K., Rujeerapaiboon, A., Preativatanyou, K., Siriyasatien, P., Walton, C., & Jariyapan, N. (2025). Microalgae diversity in Aedes aegypti larvae guts and breeding sites in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand revealed by light microscopy and metabarcoding. Metabarcoding and Metagenomics, 9, Article e152948. https://doi.org/10.3897/mbmg.9.152948

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/mbmg.9.152948

Keywords: Aedes aegypti, microalgae, larval gut, breeding sites, 23S rDNA, metabarcoding, light microscopy, Thailand, dengue vector, microbial diversity, diversity, Aedes

Heinrichiellus belongs to the subfamily Ichneumoninae and is distinguished by a combination of morphological traits, including the absence of an antennal cavity, extremely long and thin maxillary palps, a sharp sternaulus on the mesopleuron, very long and slender legs, and a long, rounded rather than flattened metasomal petiole. Its higher classification has been uncertain because several of these traits are unusual for the tribe Platylabini, to which the genus had previously been assigned.

The Indian material came from Yingku in Arunachal Pradesh and the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve in Karnataka. Yellow pan traps collected specimens at the former site, while Malaise traps collected material at the latter. The Thai specimens came from Doi Chiang Dao National Park in Chiang Mai and were collected as part of the Thailand Inventory Group for Entomological Research project. Specimens were examined and imaged with digital microscopes and stereomicroscopes.

The new Thai species, H. brevispinus, is represented by a female holotype and a male paratype. The female has a body length of 11.7 mm and a fore wing length of 8.6 mm. Its name refers to its characteristically short propodeal apophysis, or spine-like projection. The species also has an area basalis that is not defined by carinae, a sharply defined sternaulus and an incomplete juxtacoxal carina.

Heinrichiellus natgeo, known from a female holotype and a male paratype in Arunachal Pradesh, has a female body length of 10.7 mm and a fore wing length of 7.7 mm. Diagnostic features include a very large fore wing areolet that hardly narrows anteriorly, a propodeal spiracle 1.4 times as long as wide, long and sharp propodeal apophyses and an elongated area superomedia. The species name honors the National Geographic Society for supporting the Siang Expedition during which the specimens were collected.

The third new species, H. vedani, was described from a female holotype and four paratypes collected in the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve. The female holotype measures 6.0 mm in body length and 4.5 mm in fore wing length. It can be distinguished from H. brevispinus by a yellow ventral half of the clypeus, a malar space 1.9 times as long as the basal width of the mandible, and a first tergite 4.5 times as long as its anterior width. The name honors Vedan, a singer from Kerala whose music is described by the study as inspiring reflection, unity and dialogue.

For the first assessment of the genus using molecular data, the researchers sequenced cytochrome oxidase I, 16S rRNA and 28S rRNA from H. natgeo. They combined these sequences with ultraconserved-element data from an earlier Ichneumoninae analysis, producing a hybrid matrix of 298 terminal taxa and 2,682 base pairs. Maximum-likelihood analyses placed Heinrichiellus firmly within Ichneumoninae but outside Platylabini. Instead, the genus was placed within Ichneumonini, in a polytomy with Plagiotrypes concinnus and Imeria seyrigi.

Support was maximal for the placement of Heinrichiellus within Ichneumonini, whereas support for its exact sister-group relationship was low. The researchers suggested that limited sequence data, represented by only the three newly analyzed loci, may explain the unresolved relationship, rather than a genuine hard polytomy. The analysis also showed that some morphology previously used to place genera in Platylabini, including a convex clypeus and a large hypopygium, can occur in Ichneumonini and has evolved repeatedly.

The study provides a revised generic diagnosis and an identification key for the five recognized Heinrichiellus species: H. brevispinus, H. natgeo, H. vedani, H. hildegardae and H. nambui. Their documented distribution now includes the Eastern Palaearctic in Russia and Japan and the Oriental region in India and Thailand. The hosts of Heinrichiellus remain unknown, and the molecular analysis was limited to a single newly sequenced species and three Sanger loci, restricting resolution of its closest relationships.

Subject of Research: Taxonomic and phylogenetic assessment of the ichneumonid wasp genus Heinrichiellus in India and Thailand

Article Title: First report of the genus Heinrichiellus Tereshkin, 2009 ( Hymenoptera , Ichneumonidae ) from the Oriental region with the description of three new species

Article References: Ranjith, A. P., Broad, G. R., Santos, B. F., & Butcher, B. A. (2025). First report of the genus Heinrichiellus Tereshkin, 2009 (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) from the Oriental region with the description of three new species. Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 98, 757-778. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.98.158760

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/jhr.98.158760

Keywords: Heinrichiellus, Ichneumonidae, Ichneumoninae, taxonomy, phylogenetics, new species, Oriental region, India, Thailand, molecular analysis, First, report

Researchers sampled the I. parvus species complex across Southeast Asia, collecting or examining specimens from Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar and Indonesia and supplementing them with museum material and sequences available in GenBank. The mitochondrial analysis included 65 Ingerophrynus specimens, representing 10 of the genus’s 13 then-recognized species and 44 specimens assigned to the I. parvus complex. Bayesian inference and maximum-likelihood analyses used a combined alignment of up to 4,479 base pairs from the 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA and ND1 mitochondrial genes.

Both analyses recovered the northern and southern lineages as reciprocal sister lineages with strong support. The southern lineage, retained as I. parvus sensu stricto, included specimens from Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and the southernmost part of Peninsular Thailand south of the Kangar-Pattani Line. The northern lineage included populations from Peninsular Myanmar and Thailand north of that biogeographic boundary. In the 465-base-pair 16S rRNA fragment, uncorrected divergence between the lineages was 5.04%, compared with intraspecific distances of 1.54% in the northern group and 2.08% in the southern group.

The nuclear analysis also distinguished the lineages. Researchers sequenced POMC, BDNF and RAG1 in 16 specimens, eight representing each lineage, and constructed median-joining allele networks. The northern lineage had two unique POMC and two unique RAG1 haplotypes separated from southern haplotypes by seven and five mutation steps, respectively. Two unique BDNF haplotypes were separated from the closest southern haplotypes by one or two mutational steps. These results support marked evolutionary differentiation, although the nuclear sample was relatively small.

Morphological comparisons used adults in good condition from the two lineages: 10 southern-lineage specimens, comprising seven males and three females, and 28 northern-lineage specimens, comprising 18 males and 10 females. Southern-lineage females were larger than northern-lineage females, while principal component analysis separated adult males from the two lineages without overlap. The first two components accounted for 15.99% and 12.94% of total variation. The new species differs from I. parvus sensu stricto in body size, cranial and limb proportions, and coloration, including bright orange cranial crests rather than brown ones.

Ingerophrynus chrysolophus has a snout-vent length of 30.3–35.7 mm in males and 34.0–42.4 mm in females. Micro-computed tomography was used to examine the skull of one adult male and one adult female from the northern lineage. The scans documented a generally well-ossified cranium with traces of hyperossification in parts of the cranial roof and underossification in the otic region. Because the osteological comparison included only two individuals and no comparative dataset was available for the genus, the authors could not determine whether observed differences between the specimens reflect sexual dimorphism or individual variation.

Bioacoustic comparisons were based on 188 calls from three males at two localities: two males in Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia, representing the southern lineage, and one male in Ratchaburi, Thailand, representing the northern lineage. Southern-lineage advertisement calls were high-pitched rising trills, with 13–15 calls per series, call durations of 0.05–0.07 seconds, 6–9 pulses per call and peak frequencies of 2,438–2,625 Hz. Northern-lineage calls consisted of 8–10 calls per series, lasted 0.02–0.05 seconds, contained 5–6 pulses and had peak frequencies of 1,292–1,378 Hz. These measured differences support distinctiveness, but the recordings included only one male from the northern population, limiting how broadly the acoustic result can be generalized.

Species distribution modeling used 155 georeferenced localities and 19 bioclimatic variables, with models generated at 5-kilometre pixel size. Reported test-area AUC values were 0.980 for the northern lineage and 0.956 for the southern lineage. The models indicated almost completely non-overlapping climatic niches, with the predicted boundary broadly corresponding to the Kangar-Pattani Line. The northern lineage was associated with more seasonal tropical and subequatorial mountain-forest conditions, whereas the southern lineage was modeled in equatorial perhumid forest. These are model-based estimates of potential distributions, not direct measurements of complete population ranges or evidence that the boundary caused genetic divergence.

The revision restricted the recognized range of I. parvus sensu stricto to Sumatra, westernmost Java, the Malay Peninsula south of the Kangar-Pattani Line and offshore islands including the Seribuat Archipelago, and removed I. parvus from the documented faunas of Cambodia and Myanmar. Ingerophrynus chrysolophus was described from Thailand and recorded across southern, central, western and eastern Thailand, adjacent southern Myanmar and southwestern Cambodia. The authors proposed treating I. wangyingyongi and I. ledongensis as subspecies of I. galeatus pending further analysis, and proposed a preliminary conservation category of Least Concern for the new species while identifying habitat loss and degradation associated with logging and deforestation as potential threats.

Subject of Research: Integrative taxonomic revision of the Ingerophrynus parvus species complex, with a new toad species from Thailand

Article Title: A taxonomic revision of the Ingerophrynus parvus species complex ( Amphibia , Anura , Bufonidae ) with the description of a new species from Thailand

Article References: Arkhipov, D. V., Pawangkhanant, P., Sarker, G., Gorin, V. A., Bragin, A. M., Nguyen, T. V., Hamidy, A., Muin, M. A., Kurniawan, N., Brown, R. M., Suwannapoom, C., Smith, E., & Poyarkov, N. A. (2025). A taxonomic revision of the Ingerophrynus parvus species complex (Amphibia, Anura, Bufonidae) with the description of a new species from Thailand. Herpetozoa, 38, 271-297. https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.38.e165173

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/herpetozoa.38.e165173

Keywords: Ingerophrynus chrysolophus, Malayan dwarf toad, taxonomic revision, amphibian diversity, new species, Thailand, phylogenetics, bioacoustics, species distribution modeling, taxonomic, revision, Ingerophrynus

The plant was collected during botanical surveys in 2025, when two specimens were found in lower montane forest with small bamboo. It grows among leaf litter in shade at elevations of 950–970 metres. Thismia daemona is an achlorophyllous herb with coralliform, pubescent, light-brown roots. Its erect, unbranched stem is 35–65 mm tall and bears one to three sessile flowers, while the complete plant reaches up to 125 mm including the flowers.

The flowers have a dark brown to blackish floral tube measuring 19–22 mm long and 7–14 mm wide. Its outer surface bears six longitudinal ribs, and its inner surface has 12 ribs, irregular transverse bars in the lower half and fine reticulations in the upper half. Translucent white trichomes cover the bars and reticulations. Three thick, fleshy, reddish-orange outer tepals accompany three dark brown to blackish inner tepals. The inner tepals unite apically into a dome-shaped mitre with three lateral openings, three hood-like accessory lobes and three claviform appendages measuring 18–23 mm long.

Six pendent stamens have translucent-blue filaments. Their broad blue connectives are fused laterally into a tube about 8 mm long, and each connective bears a conspicuous longitudinal rib along the inner surface. The species produces a cup-shaped capsule, although no seeds were observed. The name daemona refers to the flower’s devil-like appearance, with dark-orange outer lobes and horn-like appendages.

Morphological comparison found that T. daemona is most similar to T. limkokthayi, a species from Pahang in Peninsular Malaysia. The Thai species differs in having reddish-orange, fleshy outer tepals rather than thinner brownish-orange tepals, an irregularly papillose mitre rather than an almost glabrous one, transverse bars in the lower floral tube, translucent-blue stamens, and no mitre foveae between the bases of the claviform appendages. It can also be distinguished from T. betung-kerihunensis by its blackish flowers and thick outer tepals, whereas that Bornean species has blue-green flowers and thin outer tepals.

For the molecular analysis, the researchers sequenced one specimen of the new species and also generated sequences for T. clavigeroides collected at its type locality. The combined dataset comprised three nuclear markers, SSU, ITS and LSU, and two mitochondrial markers, atpA and matR. It contained 5,498 characters and 27 accessions representing 24 Thismia species, with Haplothismia exannulata from India included as the outgroup.

Individual and combined datasets were evaluated with Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood. The Bayesian analysis used two independent runs with four chains and 10 million generations, with trees sampled every 3,000 generations and 25% of the trees discarded as burn-in. Maximum-likelihood analysis used 10,000 rapid bootstrap replicates. The two methods produced congruent tree topologies. The combined reconstruction placed T. daemona in the Geomitra clade, in a sister position to the Bornean endemic T. betung-kerihunensis, although the authors noted that this relationship was inferred from a limited DNA sample.

The description brings the number of recognized species in Thismia section Geomitra to eight, and the study includes a key for distinguishing them. A preliminary conservation assessment classified T. daemona as Critically Endangered under IUCN criteria B2ab(iii), D. The species is known from one population in a protected area that receives regular tourist visits, which the authors identify as a threat to its habitat. Its extent of occurrence could not be calculated from the single known point; the formal area of occupancy was estimated at 4 km², while the known population occupies no more than 0.05 km² and fewer than 50 individuals were observed. The species is currently documented only at the type locality, although the authors state that similar vegetation elsewhere in western Thailand or Myanmar may also be suitable for it.

Subject of Research: Taxonomic identification and preliminary conservation assessment of a new Thismia species from Thailand

Article Title: Thismia daemona ( Thismiaceae ), a new species from Thailand supported by morphological and molecular evidence

Article References: Seelanan, T., Chantapram, I., Taosiri, N., Chuchuea, C., & Chantanaorrapint, S. (2026). Thismia daemona (Thismiaceae), a new species from Thailand supported by morphological and molecular evidence. PhytoKeys, 278, 177-189. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.278.202868

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.278.202868

Keywords: Thismia daemona, new species, plant taxonomy, mycoheterotrophy, Thismiaceae, Thailand, DNA phylogeny, morphology, Critically Endangered, biodiversity, Thismia, daemona

The study covered the 173-square-kilometre Huai Thap Salao Watershed on the northeastern edge of Huai Kha Khaeng in Uthai Thani Province. The landscape included portions of Huai Kha Khaeng and the adjacent Huai Thap Salao–Huai Khok Khwai National Forest, an area functioning as a buffer around the protected landscape. Its seasonally dry forests were dominated by mixed deciduous forest with bamboo, deciduous dipterocarp forest and mixed deciduous forest. People also used the area for grazing cattle, water buffalo, goats and sheep and for collecting bamboo shoots from May through October and termite mushrooms from October through November.

Because dense vegetation and limited visibility can make direct distance sampling unreliable, researchers used repeated indirect dung surveys. They established 130 strip transects at 840-metre intervals, with one 5-metre-wide transect in each 210-by-210-metre grid cell and an effective sampled area of approximately 4,100 square metres per transect. Seven survey periods covered October 2018 through September 2019. Only dung estimated to be less than 30 days old was recorded, and piles were removed after each survey period to standardise accumulation.

Density was estimated with an equal-probability strip-transect method. The calculation used an assumed defecation rate of 9.5 dung piles per banteng per individual per day, based on earlier observations. Mixed-effects models with negative-binomial errors examined associations with distances to protected areas, livestock-grazing zones, agricultural and horticultural areas, and non-timber forest product collection areas, while accounting for survey period and plot. Additional period-specific models compared habitat, environmental and human-use variables using Akaike information criteria corrected for small sample size.

Mean density reached 2.94 ± 0.56 individuals per square kilometre in October–November 2018, then declined to 2.66 ± 0.33 in December–January and 2.57 ± 0.35 in January–February. It rose to 2.75 ± 0.27 during February–April before falling to 2.46 ± 0.42 in April–May and 2.00 ± 0.21 in May–August. The April–May estimate was significantly lower than the early- and late-dry-season estimates in pairwise comparisons, both with p-values below 0.05. Density then rose slightly to 2.41 ± 0.28 in August–September.

Habitat use also varied by season. Mixed deciduous forest had the highest overall densities, including 5.08 ± 0.36 individuals per square kilometre in October–November. Deciduous dipterocarp forest densities increased during the dry season, whereas mixed deciduous forest with bamboo reached its highest density in August–September. Open areas in the buffer had an elevated estimate of 4.08 ± 2.44 individuals per square kilometre in January–February, with lower estimates in the other periods. These results measure redistribution among habitats rather than changes in the number of animals present.

Comparisons between locations inside and outside the protected-area boundary found no significant difference from January through April. Density was higher inside the protected area in October–November, December–January, April–May and May–August, with reported p-values of 0.03, 0.04, 0.01 and 0.03, respectively; the December–January contrast fell in the early dry season. In the mixed-effects analysis, the incidence rate ratio for distance from the protected area was 0.68, indicating an estimated 32% decrease in density for each unit increase in that distance. Distances from non-timber forest product zones, livestock areas, agricultural areas and horticultural areas had weak, statistically non-significant main associations with density.

Relationships with human land use varied over time. In January–February, the period-specific model associated greater distance from livestock areas with higher banteng density, while the direction of the relationship with non-timber forest product collection differed among periods. In April–May, when livestock use was intensive, banteng density within livestock zones was significantly lower than outside them, with a p-value below 0.01. No significant difference between areas with and without livestock was detected in January–February. The authors interpreted overlap with some harvesting areas as potentially reflecting attraction to concentrated resources, but the observational analysis did not establish the cause.

The findings are limited by monitoring across one annual cycle, restriction to lowland habitats in a single watershed and reliance on an assumed defecation rate that may vary across seasons and ecological conditions. Prescribed burning occurred from 22 February to 10 March 2019, after which wildfires affected all 130 transects. This enabled assessment of landscape-wide post-fire conditions but prevented comparison between burned and unburned patches. The researchers proposed seasonally targeted buffer-zone management, including controls on livestock access and harvesting and closer coordination with local communities, but the study did not test the effects of those interventions.

Subject of Research: Seasonal banteng density and habitat use in a protected-area buffer landscape in western Thailand

Article Title: Seasonal variation in banteng density and habitat use across protected areas and buffer zones in western Thailand

Article References: Chookaew, N., Phumsathan, S., Simcharoen, A., Duangchantrasiri, S., & Pongpattananurak, N. (2026). Seasonal variation in banteng density and habitat use across protected areas and buffer zones in western Thailand. Nature Conservation, 64, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.64.184399

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/natureconservation.64.184399

Keywords: banteng, population density, dung surveys, seasonal variation, habitat use, protected areas, buffer zones, livestock grazing, Thailand, conservation, Seasonal, variation

The cohort, named CMRRADAR-AF, included 43 adults with atrial fibrillation whose cardiovascular magnetic resonance scans were acquired on 1.5-T or 3-T Philips systems. Patients were identified through electronic medical records from January 2018 to December 2024, and the study included 25 outpatients managed without hospitalisation, 10 patients admitted for an AF-related cause without unplanned readmission within 30 days, and eight patients readmitted within that period. The primary comparison therefore included 18 admitted patients and only eight readmission events. Overall, 53% of participants were men, mean age was 66 years, 63% had paroxysmal AF and 37% had long-standing persistent AF. Hypertension was the most common comorbidity, affecting 84% of the cohort.

Left atrial reservoir strain was derived by feature tracking from standard two- and four-chamber cine images. It measures the maximum longitudinal stretch of the atrial wall from the end of left ventricular diastole to the point of maximum left atrial volume during ventricular systole, while the mitral valve is closed. This phase does not require organised atrial contraction, making it measurable in AF. Booster-pump strain and conduit strain were not reported because their derivation requires identifying atrial contraction or mitral valve opening, which could not be done reliably during AF. Analysis was performed with CVI42 version 6.4. Left atrial volume was measured with the biplane area-length method and indexed to body-surface area, while ventricular volumes, ejection fractions and other structural measurements were derived from semiautomated contouring.

Among admitted patients, median left atrial reservoir strain was 6.6% in those readmitted and 15.4% in those who were not, a difference with a p-value below 0.001. The strain measure had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, or AUC, of 0.963, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.90 to 1.00. An exploratory threshold derived within the same dataset, below 11.1%, identified 88% of readmissions, with a 95% confidence interval of 47% to 100%, and classified every patient without readmission correctly, with a specificity of 100% and a 95% confidence interval of 69% to 100%. Because the threshold and predictor were selected in the same small sample, the investigators estimated an optimism-corrected AUC of 0.919 after accounting for selection. These figures describe discrimination within this exploratory cohort, not validated performance in an unselected AF population.

The ratio combining left atrial volume index with left ventricular ejection fraction also showed an association with readmission. Its median value was 1.21 in readmitted patients and 0.57 in those without readmission, and its AUC was 0.913, with a p-value of 0.002. At an exploratory threshold of at least 0.77, sensitivity was 100% and specificity was 80%. Left atrial volume index alone produced an AUC of 0.850, whereas right ventricular ejection fraction produced an AUC of 0.838. DeLong comparisons did not show significant differences between left atrial reservoir strain and the ratio, between the ratio and left atrial volume index alone, or between strain and volume index alone. With 18 subjects and eight events, however, these non-significant results are inconclusive rather than evidence that the measures perform equally well. The ratio was strongly correlated with left atrial volume index, which forms its numerator, so the study could not establish that dividing by ejection fraction added independent information.

Qualitative atrial hyperenhancement was observed on late gadolinium enhancement imaging in all eight readmitted patients and in none of the 10 admitted patients who were not readmitted. This complete separation was striking but was not converted into a formal discrimination statistic. The scans used a late gadolinium enhancement protocol optimised for nulling left ventricular myocardium rather than for characterising the much thinner atrial wall, which averages 2 to 3 mm. Dedicated atrial protocols use shorter inversion times, higher spatial resolution and respiratory-gated three-dimensional acquisition. The study’s binary assessment therefore cannot be treated as validated quantification of atrial fibrosis, and the authors did not interpret the pattern as proof of a fibrosis mechanism. Non-ischaemic left ventricular scar was present in five of eight readmitted patients and in none of the non-readmitted admitted patients, a descriptive association that was not used to establish an atrial substrate mechanism.

Readmission causes were heterogeneous. Five of the eight readmissions involved AF with rapid ventricular response and three involved bleeding associated with anticoagulation. In a post hoc analysis excluding the bleeding events, left atrial reservoir strain retained an AUC of 0.940, indicating that the overall association was not driven solely by bleeding. At the same time, the three patients readmitted for bleeding also had low strain, with a median of 7.5%, suggesting that low reservoir strain may identify broadly higher-risk patients rather than a group with specifically arrhythmic recurrence. A prespecified sensitivity analysis restricted to 14 patients whose scans had been obtained within 12 months of the index admission, including six readmissions, produced an AUC of 0.938 for reservoir strain. The median scan-to-admission interval for the full admitted group was 134 days, although the interval was longer in the readmitted group than in the non-readmitted group: 280 versus 78 days, a difference that did not reach statistical significance.

The three-group comparison revealed a non-monotonic pattern. Patients managed as outpatients had a median reservoir strain of 8.5%, lower than the 15.4% recorded among admitted patients who were not readmitted, while the readmitted group had the lowest value at 6.6%. The corresponding median ratios of left atrial volume index to left ventricular ejection fraction were 0.83, 0.57 and 1.21, respectively. Right ventricular ejection fraction and left atrial ejection fraction showed a comparable pattern, with the non-readmitted admitted group having the highest values. These administratively defined groups do not constitute data-derived phenotypes, and the pattern could reflect differences in underlying illness, referral practices or reversible causes of admission. Notably, heart-failure history was present in 75% of readmitted patients, compared with 20% of admitted patients who were not readmitted and 8% of outpatients, making it impossible to separate an AF-specific atrial effect from shared structural and functional disease. The investigators therefore described the three-group results as hypothesis-generating rather than evidence of a progressive disease continuum.

The LACE clinical risk score, which combines length of stay, admission acuity, Charlson comorbidity index and recent emergency-department visits, had an AUC of 0.719, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.44 to 0.95. Its median score was 11 in the readmitted group and 9.5 in the non-readmitted group, but the difference was not statistically significant, with p equal to 0.125. At the published high-risk threshold of 10 or more, sensitivity was 75% and specificity was 50%. An exploratory model combining LACE with reservoir strain produced a numerically higher AUC, yet the investigators did not claim incremental value because eight events were insufficient for a stable model. They also could not perform reliable multivariable adjustment: adding two predictors to this dataset would reduce the number of events per variable below accepted levels, while correlated imaging measures could further destabilise the estimates. The apparent performance of the imaging measures therefore cannot be interpreted as superiority over LACE or as proof that imaging adds clinically useful prediction.

Measurement reproducibility was high in a subset of 22 scans. For reservoir strain, the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.998 for repeated measurements by the same reader and 0.952 between readers; the mean inter-observer absolute difference was 1.5 percentage points, with limits of agreement from minus 3.7 to plus 3.2 percentage points. Agreement was similarly high for left atrial volume index and left ventricular ejection fraction. Other major limitations included the retrospective design, selection of patients referred for magnetic resonance imaging, reliance on one hospital’s records, inability to capture readmissions elsewhere, and inability to reliably retrieve heart rate and rhythm at the time of imaging. Larger prospective, multicentre studies with uniform scan timing, dedicated atrial late gadolinium enhancement, direct comparisons with clinical models and adjustment for heart failure are needed before these measures can be used for discharge risk stratification or routine decision-making.

Subject of Research: Exploratory associations between cardiac MRI measures and 30-day readmission after atrial fibrillation hospitalisation

Article Title: CMR-derived left atrial reservoir strain and the LAVI/LVEF ratio are associated with 30-day readmission in atrial fibrillation: the CMRRADAR-AF retrospective cohort study

Article References: Panyawongkhanti, M., Fueangtalop, A., Satitthammaphon, N., Thaitirarot, C., Mueangsilpsat, V., Wuttichaipradit, C., Tunhasiriwer, A., & Tanking, C. (2026). CMR-derived left atrial reservoir strain and the LAVI/LVEF ratio are associated with 30-day readmission in atrial fibrillation: the CMRRADAR-AF retrospective cohort study. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 13, Article 1845659. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2026.1845659

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2026.1845659

Keywords: atrial fibrillation, cardiac MRI, left atrial strain, readmission, LAVI/LVEF ratio, heart failure, risk stratification, late gadolinium enhancement, LACE score, Thailand, CMR-derived, left

The application was developed around defined respiratory anatomy learning objectives. It included interactive three-dimensional visualization, layered anatomical structures and real-time augmented-reality manipulation. Content validity was assessed by three subject experts using the Item–Objective Congruence index, with values ranging from 0.90 to 1.00 across the evaluated application components. Two additional experts reviewed the satisfaction and engagement questionnaires, bringing the number of contributors to these evaluation roles to five.

Students used the application for seven days alongside their usual learning activities. Respiratory anatomy knowledge was evaluated before and after this period with multiple-choice tests scored on a 0–10 scale. The tests had undergone expert review for content relevance and alignment between items and learning objectives. Differences between paired pre- and post-test scores were analyzed with the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test. Engagement and satisfaction were measured separately through structured Likert questionnaires on a 1–5 range, and descriptive statistics were calculated for the study variables.

Learner-reported engagement averaged 4.08 ± 0.69, while satisfaction averaged 4.14 ± 0.82. The authors described these results as positive engagement and satisfaction ratings, while also emphasizing the study’s limited design. The observed score increase occurred in one cohort over seven days, and all participants received the application in addition to usual learning activities. Consequently, the findings cannot isolate the application’s effect from other instruction or from changes within the group. The researchers called for controlled studies to determine whether the tool is educationally effective and proposed further evaluation of it as a supplementary respiratory anatomy learning resource. The available report describes the study’s methods, results and limitations but does not provide evidence that the application produces learning gains when compared with another approach.

Subject of Research: Evaluation of a 3D augmented reality application for respiratory anatomy education in first-year physiotherapy students

Article Title: Development and evaluation of a 3D augmented reality application for respiratory anatomy education

Article References: Thongchote, K., Chainiramol, P., Tangapinun, P., Sirikulviwath, V., Srichaiwan, S., Sukheebot, N., & Lapmanee, S. (2026). Development and evaluation of a 3D augmented reality application for respiratory anatomy education. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10630-y

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12909-026-10630-y

Keywords: augmented reality, respiratory anatomy, medical education, physiotherapy students, 3D visualization, pre–post study, knowledge assessment, student engagement, Thailand, Development, evaluation, augmented