Abstract. Leishmania species of the Viannia subgenus are responsible for most cases of New World tegumentary leishmaniasis. However, little is known about the vectors involved in disease transmission in the Amazon regions of Peru. We used a novel real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to assess Leishmania infections in phlebotomines collected in rural areas of Madre de Dios, Peru. A total of 1,299 non-blood fed female sand flies from 33 species were captured by using miniature CDC light traps. Lutzomyia auraensis was the most abundant species (63%) in this area. Seven of 164 pools were positive by PCR for Leishmania by kinetoplast DNA. The real-time PCR identified four Lu. auraensis pools as positive for L. (Viannia) lainsoni and L. (V.) braziliensis. The minimum infection prevalence for Lu. auraensis was estimated to be 0.6% (95% confidence interval = 0.20-1.42%). Further studies are needed to assess the importance of Lu. auraensis in the transmission of New World tegumentary leishmaniasis in hyperendemic areas of Peru.

Ten Early Bronze Age (BzA1, 2200-2000 BC) copper artefacts from the central Valais region from Switzerland were studied for their elemental composition and lead isotope ratios. In order to answer the archaeological question of a local copper supply, a database for copper minerals across the Valais (Switzerland) has been established. This database contains 69 data on lead isotope ratios as well as additional information on the minerals and geochemical associations for copper minerals from 38 locations in the Valais. Comparisons of the artefacts were also made with data pertaining to minerals from various deposits from Europe and Anatolia taken from the literature. The provenance of the materials is very diverse. Some of the data are compatible with the data from the copper mineral deposits of the Valais region. Moreover, three copper lunulae were identified as possibly Tuscan, which demonstrates contacts between Italy and the Valais region. This pattern also establishes a multiplicity of provenances for the metal and cultural influences in the Alpine environment of the Rhone Valley of Switzerland at the beginning of the Early Bronze Age.

A system for continuous monitoring of atmospheric corrosivity has been developed. An electronic unit measures and records changes in the electrical resistance of a thin metal track applied on an insulating substrate. If the metal corrodes, the effective cross sectional area of the track decreases and the electrical resistance increases. Sensors made of silver, copper, iron/steel, zinc, lead, tin, aluminium, bronze, and brass at thicknesses from 50 nm to 250 m were tailored for environments with different corrosivities. The developed technology proved capable of providing high sensitivity, allowing for real-time corrosion monitoring even in low-corrosive indoor cultural heritage facilities. Laboratory tests showed good reproducibility with the standard deviation of parallel measurements at less than ±20% for metals which corrode uniformly in the tested environments. Several examples selected from a broad testing programme in partner museums, libraries, and other institut ions show successful applications of the logger system for characterization of air quality control in indoor locations, during transport and in temporary exhibitions; assessment of new buildings and storage facilities; and fundamental studies of optimal conservation and storage procedures. A first outline of a classification system for lead, which is particularly sensitive to the presence of carboxylic acids, is given. The technique has a large potential as an independent method for monitoring air quality in facilities displaying and storing valuable objects of cultural heritage

Abstract. Anopheline specimens were collected in 2011 by human landing catch, Shannon and CDC traps from the malaria endemic localities of Santa Rosa and San Pedro in Madre de Dios Department, Peru. Most specimens were either Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) benarrochi B or An. (Nys.) rangeli, confirmed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism-internal transcribed spacer 2 (PCR-RFLP-ITS2) and, for selected individuals, ITS2 sequences. A few specimens from Lupuna, Loreto Department, northern Amazonian Peru, were also identified as An. benarrochi B. A statistical parsimony network using ITS2 sequences confirmed that all Peruvian An. benarrochi B analyzed were identical to those in GenBank from Putumayo, southern Colombia. Sequences of the mtDNA COI BOLD region of specimens from all three Peruvian localities were connected using a statistical parsimony network, although there were multiple mutation steps between northern and southern Peruvian sequences. A Bayesian inference of concatenated Peruvian sequences of ITS2+COI detected a single clade with very high support for all An. benarrochi B except one individual from Lupuna that was excluded. No samples were positive for Plasmodium by CytB-PCR.

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