Marismas patagónicas: las últimas de Sudamérica

Las marismas son ecosistemas regularmente inundados por el mar. Esta característica condiciona su flora y su fauna, que deben vivir en un medio sucesivamente cubierto y descubierto por el agua y caracterizado por su alta salinidad. La costa atlántica de la Patagonia (Argentina) alberga abundantes y variadas marismas, hasta el momento poco conocidas y aún menos estudiadas. El autor contesta la pregunta si pueden vivir plantas y animales terrestres en lugares regularmente cubiertos y descubiertos por las mareas, y pasar así la mitad de sus vidas sumergidos en agua de mar. Contesta sobre qué son las marismas y quiénes las habitan, en particular las de la Patagonia Argentina, la importancia del ambiente: su uso y valoración. Este artículo de divulgación incluye el mapa con marismas desde el sur de Brasil hasta la Patagonia austral sí como otras lecturas sugeridas

Delivery in pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2: A fast review

Background: Few case reports and clinical series exist on pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2 who delivered. Objective: To review the available information on mode of delivery, vertical/peripartum transmission, and neonatal outcome in pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2. Search strategy: Combination of the following key words: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, and pregnancy in Embase and PubMed databases. Selection criteria: Papers reporting cases of women infected with SARS-CoV-2 who delivered. Data collection and analysis: The following was extracted: author; country; number of women; study design; gestational age at delivery; selected clinical maternal data; mode of delivery; selected neonatal outcomes. Main results: In the 13 studies included, vaginal delivery was reported in 6 cases (9.4%; 95% CI, 3.5\u201319.3). Indication for cesarean delivery was worsening of maternal conditions in 31 cases (48.4%; 95% CI, 35.8\u201361.3). Two newborns testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 by real-time RT-PCR assay were reported. In three neonates, SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM levels were elevated but the RT-PCR test was negative. Conclusions: The rate of vertical or peripartum transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is low, if any, for cesarean delivery; no data are available for vaginal delivery. Low frequency of spontaneous preterm birth and general favorable immediate neonatal outcome are reassuring

Central nervous system metastases from castration-resistant prostate cancer in the docetaxel era.

Central nervous system (brain or leptomeningeal) metastases (BLm) are considered rare in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients. Now that docetaxel has become the reference drug for first-line treatment of CRPC, patients whose disease is not controlled by hormonal manipulations may live much longer than before and have higher risk of developing BLm. We retrospectively reviewed the records of all patients with CRPC attending our centres from 2002 to 2010, and identified all of those who were diagnosed as having BLm and received (or were considered to have been eligible to receive) docetaxel-based treatment. We identified 31 cases of BLm (22 brain metastases and 9 leptomeningeal metastases) with an incidence of 3.3%. BLm-free survival was 43.5 months, and survival after BLm discovery was 4 months. With six patients surviving for more than 1 year after developing BLm, the projected 1-year BL-S rate was 25.8%. The findings of our study may be relevant in clinical practice as they indicate that incidence of BLm in CRPC patients in the docetaxel era seems to be higher than in historical reports, meaning that special attention should be paid to the appearance of neurological symptoms in long-term CRPC survivors because they may be related to BLm

Supporting Spartina: Interdisciplinary Perspective Shows Spartina As A Distinct Solid Genus

In 2014, a DNA-based phylogenetic study confirming the paraphyly of the grass subtribe Sporobolinae proposed the creation of a large monophyletic genus Sporobolus, including (among others) species previously included in the genera Spartina, Calamovilfa, and Sporobolus. Spartina species have contributed substantially (and continue contributing) to our knowledge in multiple disciplines, including ecology, evolutionary biology, molecular biology, biogeography, experimental ecology, biological invasions, environmental management, restoration ecology, history, economics, and sociology. There is no rationale so compelling to subsume the name Spartina as a subgenus that could rival the striking, global iconic history and use of the name Spartina for over 200 yr. We do not agree with the subjective arguments underlying the proposal to change Spartina to Sporobolus. We understand the importance of both the objective phylogenetic insights and of the subjective formalized nomenclature and hope that by opening this debate we will encourage positive feedback that will strengthen taxonomic decisions with an interdisciplinary perspective. We consider that the strongly distinct, monophyletic clade Spartina should simply and efficiently be treated as the genus Spartina

Parent-Completed Developmental Screening in Premature Children: A Valid Tool for Follow-Up Programs

Our goals were to (1) validate the parental Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) as a screening tool for psychomotor development among a cohort of ex-premature infants reaching 2 years, and (2) analyse the influence of parental socio-economic status and maternal education on the efficacy of the questionnaire. A regional population of 703 very preterm infants (<35 weeks gestational age) born between 2003 and 2006 were evaluated at 2 years by their parents who completed the ASQ, by a pediatric clinical examination, and by the revised Brunet Lezine psychometric test with establishment of a DQ score. Detailed information regarding parental socio-economic status was available for 419 infants. At 2 years corrected age, 630 infants (89.6%) had an optimal neuromotor examination. Overall ASQ scores for predicting a DQ score ≤85 produced an area under the receiver operator curve value of 0.85 (95% Confidence Interval:0.82–0.87). An ASQ cut-off score of ≤220 had optimal discriminatory power for identifying a DQ score ≤85 with a sensitivity of 0.85 (95%CI:0.75–0.91), a specificity of 0.72 (95%CI:0.69–0.75), a positive likelihood ratio of 3, and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.21. The median value for ASQ was not significantly associated with socio-economic level or maternal education. ASQ is an easy and reliable tool regardless of the socio-economic status of the family to predict normal neurologic outcome in ex-premature infants at 2 years of age. ASQ may be beneficial with a low-cost impact to some follow-up programs, and helps to establish a genuine sense of parental involvement

DNA Barcoding for Community Ecology - How to Tackle a Hyperdiverse, Mostly Undescribed Melanesian Fauna

Trigonopterus weevils are widely distributed throughout Melanesia and hyperdiverse in New Guinea. They are a dominant feature in natural forests, with narrow altitudinal zonation. Their use in community ecology has been precluded by the "taxonomic impediment". We sampled >6,500 specimens from seven areas across New Guinea; 1,002 specimens assigned to 270 morphospecies were DNA sequenced. Objective clustering of a refined dataset (excluding nine cryptic species) at 3% threshold revealed 324 genetic clusters (DNA group count relative to number of morphospecies = 20.0% overestimation of species diversity, or 120.0% agreement) and 85.6% taxonomic accuracy (the proportion of DNA groups that "perfectly" agree with morphology-based species hypotheses). Agreement and accuracy were best at an 8% threshold. GMYC analysis revealed 328 entities (21.5% overestimation) with 227 perfect GMYC entities (84.1% taxonomic accuracy). Both methods outperform the parataxonomist (19% underestimation; 31.6% taxonomic accuracy). The number of species found in more than one sampling area was highest in the Eastern Highlands and Huon (Sørensen similarity index 0.07, 4 shared species); ⅓ of all areas had no species overlap. Success rates of DNA barcoding methods were lowest when species showed a pronounced geographical structure. In general, Trigonopterus show high α and β-diversity across New Guinea. DNA barcoding is an excellent tool for biodiversity surveys but success rates might drop when closer localities are included. Hyperdiverse Trigonopterus are a useful taxon for evaluating forest remnants in Melanesia, allowing finer-grained analyses than would be possible with vertebrate taxa commonly used to date. Our protocol should help establish other groups of hyperdiverse fauna as target taxa for community ecology. Sequencing delivers objective data on taxa of incredible diversity but mostly without a solid taxonomic foundation and should help pave the road for the eventual formal naming of new species

Integrative Taxonomy for Continental-Scale Terrestrial Insect Observations

Although 21st century ecology uses unprecedented technology at the largest spatio-temporal scales in history, the data remain reliant on sound taxonomic practices that derive from 18th century science. The importance of accurate species identifications has been assessed repeatedly and in instances where inappropriate assignments have been made there have been costly consequences. The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) will use a standardized system based upon an integrative taxonomic foundation to conduct observations of the focal terrestrial insect taxa, ground beetles and mosquitoes, at the continental scale for a 30 year monitoring program. The use of molecular data for continental-scale, multi-decadal research conducted by a geographically widely distributed set of researchers has not been evaluated until this point. The current paper addresses the development of a reference library for verifying species identifications at NEON and the key ways in which this resource will enhance a variety of user communities

A Ranking System for Reference Libraries of DNA Barcodes: Application to Marine Fish Species from Portugal

BACKGROUND: The increasing availability of reference libraries of DNA barcodes (RLDB) offers the opportunity to the screen the level of consistency in DNA barcode data among libraries, in order to detect possible disagreements generated from taxonomic uncertainty or operational shortcomings. We propose a ranking system to attribute a confidence level to species identifications associated with DNA barcode records from a RLDB. Here we apply the proposed ranking system to a newly generated RLDB for marine fish of Portugal. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Specimens (n = 659) representing 102 marine fish species were collected along the continental shelf of Portugal, morphologically identified and archived in a museum collection. Samples were sequenced at the barcode region of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI-5P). Resultant DNA barcodes had average intra-specific and inter-specific Kimura-2-parameter distances (0.32% and 8.84%, respectively) within the range usually observed for marine fishes. All specimens were ranked in five different levels (A-E), according to the reliability of the match between their species identification and the respective diagnostic DNA barcodes. Grades A to E were attributed upon submission of individual specimen sequences to BOLD-IDS and inspection of the clustering pattern in the NJ tree generated. Overall, our study resulted in 73.5% of unambiguous species IDs (grade A), 7.8% taxonomically congruent barcode clusters within our dataset, but awaiting external confirmation (grade B), and 18.7% of species identifications with lower levels of reliability (grades C/E). CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: We highlight the importance of implementing a system to rank barcode records in RLDB, in order to flag taxa in need of taxonomic revision, or reduce ambiguities of discordant data. With increasing DNA barcode records publicly available, this cross-validation system would provide a metric of relative accuracy of barcodes, while enabling the continuous revision and annotation required in taxonomic work

The taxonomic name resolution service : an online tool for automated standardization of plant names

© The Author(s), 2013. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in BMC Bioinformatics 14 (2013): 16, doi:10.1186/1471-2105-14-16.The digitization of biodiversity data is leading to the widespread application of taxon names that are superfluous, ambiguous or incorrect, resulting in mismatched records and inflated species numbers. The ultimate consequences of misspelled names and bad taxonomy are erroneous scientific conclusions and faulty policy decisions. The lack of tools for correcting this ‘names problem’ has become a fundamental obstacle to integrating disparate data sources and advancing the progress of biodiversity science. The TNRS, or Taxonomic Name Resolution Service, is an online application for automated and user-supervised standardization of plant scientific names. The TNRS builds upon and extends existing open-source applications for name parsing and fuzzy matching. Names are standardized against multiple reference taxonomies, including the Missouri Botanical Garden's Tropicos database. Capable of processing thousands of names in a single operation, the TNRS parses and corrects misspelled names and authorities, standardizes variant spellings, and converts nomenclatural synonyms to accepted names. Family names can be included to increase match accuracy and resolve many types of homonyms. Partial matching of higher taxa combined with extraction of annotations, accession numbers and morphospecies allows the TNRS to standardize taxonomy across a broad range of active and legacy datasets. We show how the TNRS can resolve many forms of taxonomic semantic heterogeneity, correct spelling errors and eliminate spurious names. As a result, the TNRS can aid the integration of disparate biological datasets. Although the TNRS was developed to aid in standardizing plant names, its underlying algorithms and design can be extended to all organisms and nomenclatural codes. The TNRS is accessible via a web interface at http://tnrs.iplantcollaborative.org/ webcite and as a RESTful web service and application programming interface. Source code is available at https://github.com/iPlantCollaborativeOpenSource/TNRS/ webcite.BJE was supported by NSF grant DBI 0850373 and TR by CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Australia,. BB and BJE acknowledge early financial support from Conservation International and TEAM who funded the development of early prototypes of taxonomic name resolution. The iPlant Collaborative (http://www.iplantcollaborative.org) is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (#DBI-0735191)