Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

RECONSTITUIÇÃO PALEOGEOGRÁFICA DO QUATERNÁRIO NO ESTUÁRIO DO RIO SANTO ANTÔNIO, ILHA DO MARANHÃO - BRASIL.

As variações do nível relativo do mar ocorridas durante o Quaternário foram responsáveis pela atual paisagem das zonas costeiras mundiais. Estas alterações seculares do nível do mar, ora transgressivas ora regressivas, deixaram evidências sedimentológicas, estratigráficas, geomorfológicas e paleontológicas que possibilitam a reconstituição quanto à paleogeografia desses ambientes. O presente estudo se desenvolveu com base na hipótese de que registros de transgressões e regressões marinhas durante o Quaternário tenham sido preservados na região estuarina do Rio Santo Antônio, extremo leste da Ilha do Maranhão. A partir da interpretação geológica, estratigráfica, sedimentológica e geomorfológica de um afloramento de bioclastos contendo conchas de moluscos bivalves e gastrópodes, foi possível verificar a evidência de um paleonível marinho na margem deste rio. O estudo constatou que os bioclastos acumulados foram resultado de uma condição hidrodinâmica pretérita, provavelmente relacionada ao máximo transgressivo holocênico quando ainda não se fazia presente o esporão arenoso (headlandspit) da Praia de Panaquatira. O mapeamento topográfico do local comprovou que os bioclastos estão situados a +3,20 m acima do nível médio do mar. Os resultados obtidos no presente estudo conduziram a uma proposta de reconstituição paleogeográfica da área de estudo

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P < 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)