Preliminary phylogenetic analysis of the Andean clade and the placement of new Colombian blueberries (Ericaceae, Vaccinieae)

The blueberry tribe Vaccinieae (Ericaceae) is particularly diverse in South America and underwent extensive radiation in Colombia where many endemics occur. Recent fi eldwork in Colombia has resulted in valuable additions to the phylogeny and as well in the discovery of morphologically noteworthy new species that need to be phylogenetically placed before being named. Th is is particularly important, as the monophyly of many of the studied genera have not been confi rmed. In order to advance our understanding of the relationships within neotropical Vaccinieae and advice the taxonomy of the new blueberry relatives, here we present the most comprehensive phylogenetic analysis for the Andean clade. Anthopterus, Demosthenesia, and Pellegrinia are among the putative Andean genera recovered as monophyletic, while other eight Andean genera were not. Th e analyses also showed that genera that have been traditionally widely defi ned are non-monophyletic and could be further split into more discrete groups. Four newly discovered Colombian Vaccinieae are placed in the monophyletic Satyria s.s. and the Psammisia I clade. Although these new species are endemic to the Colombian Western Cordillera and Chocó biogeographic region and three are not known outside of Las Orquídeas National Park, they do not form sister pairs

Preliminary phylogenetic analysis of the Andean clade and the placement of new Colombian blueberries (Ericaceae, Vaccinieae)

The blueberry tribe Vaccinieae (Ericaceae) is particularly diverse in South America and underwent extensive radiation in Colombia where many endemics occur. Recent fi eldwork in Colombia has resulted in valuable additions to the phylogeny and as well in the discovery of morphologically noteworthy new species that need to be phylogenetically placed before being named. Th is is particularly important, as the monophyly of many of the studied genera have not been confi rmed. In order to advance our understanding of the relationships within neotropical Vaccinieae and advice the taxonomy of the new blueberry relatives, here we present the most comprehensive phylogenetic analysis for the Andean clade. Anthopterus, Demosthenesia, and Pellegrinia are among the putative Andean genera recovered as monophyletic, while other eight Andean genera were not. Th e analyses also showed that genera that have been traditionally widely defi ned are non-monophyletic and could be further split into more discrete groups. Four newly discovered Colombian Vaccinieae are placed in the monophyletic Satyria s.s. and the Psammisia I clade. Although these new species are endemic to the Colombian Western Cordillera and Chocó biogeographic region and three are not known outside of Las Orquídeas National Park, they do not form sister pairs

Amplitude measurements of Faraday waves

A light reflection technique is used to measure quantitatively the surface elevation of Faraday waves. The performed measurements cover a wide parameter range of driving frequencies and sample viscosities. In the capillary wave regime the bifurcation diagrams exhibit a frequency independent scaling proportional to the wavelength. We also provide numerical simulations of the full Navier-Stokes equations, which are in quantitative agreement up to supercritical drive amplitudes of 20%. The validity of an existing perturbation analysis is found to be limited to 2.5% overcriticaly.Comment: 7 figure

Lower Use of Hospice by Cancer Patients who Live in Minority Versus White Areas

BACKGROUND: Although hospice care can alleviate suffering at the end of life for patients with cancer, it remains underutilized, particularly by African Americans and Hispanics. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether the racial composition of the census tract where an individual resides is associated with hospice use. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare file for individuals dying from breast, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer (n = 70,669). MEASUREMENTS: Hospice use during the 12 months before death. RESULTS: Hospice was most commonly used by individuals who lived in areas with fewer African-American and Hispanic residents (47%), and was least commonly used by individuals who lived in areas with a high percentage of African-American and Hispanic residents (35%). Hispanics (odds ratio 0.51, 95% confidence interval 0.29–0.91) and African Americans (0.56, 0.44–0.71) were less likely to use hospice if they lived in a census tract with a high percentage of both African Americans and Hispanics than if they lived in a low minority tract. African Americans and whites were less likely to receive hospice care if they lived in a census tract with a high percentage of Hispanics than if they lived in a low minority area. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing hospice use may require interventions to improve the delivery of hospice care in minority communities

Change in Terrestrial Human Footprint Drives Continued Loss of Intact Ecosystems

Human pressure mapping is important for understanding humanity's role in shaping Earth's patterns and processes. We provide the latest maps of the terrestrial human footprint and provide an assessment of change in human pressure across Earth. Between 2000 and 2013, 1.9 million km2 of land relatively free of human disturbance became highly modified. Our results show that humanity's footprint is eroding Earth's last intact ecosystems and that greater efforts are urgently needed to retain them

Accuracy and completeness of patient pathways – the benefits of national data linkage in Australia

Background - The technical challenges associated with national data linkage, and the extent of cross-border population movements, are explored as part of a pioneering research project. The project involved linking state-based hospital admission records and death registrations across Australia for a national study of hospital related deaths. Methods - The project linked over 44 million morbidity and mortality records from four Australian states between 1st July 1999 and 31st December 2009 using probabilistic methods. The accuracy of the linkage was measured through a comparison with jurisdictional keys sourced from individual states. The extent of cross-border population movement between these states was also assessed. Results - Data matching identified almost twelve million individuals across the four Australian states. The percentage of individuals from one state with records found in another ranged from 3-5 %. Using jurisdictional keys to measure linkage quality, results indicate a high matching efficiency (F measure 97 to 99 %), with linkage processing taking only a matter of days. Conclusions - The results demonstrate the feasibility and accuracy of undertaking cross jurisdictional linkage for national research. The benefits are substantial, particularly in relation to capturing the full complement of records in patient pathways as a result of cross-border population movements. The project identified a sizeable ‘mobile’ population with hospital records in more than one state. Research studies that focus on a single jurisdiction will under-enumerate the extent of hospital usage by individuals in the population. It is important that researchers understand and are aware of the impact of this missing hospital activity on their studies. The project highlights the need for an efficient and accurate data linkage system to support national research across Australia

Prognostic significance of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) provide prognostic value in invasive breast cancer and guidelines for their assessment have been published. This study aims to evaluate: (a) methods of TILs assessment, and (b) their prognostic significance in breast ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Hematoxylin and eosin sections from two clinically annotated DCIS cohorts; a training set (n = 150 pure DCIS) and a validation set (n = 666 comprising 534 pure DCIS and 132 cases wherein DCIS and invasive breast carcinoma were co-existent) were assessed. Seven different scoring methods were applied to the training set to identify the most optimal reproducible method associated with strongest prognostic value. Among different methods, TILs touching ducts' basement membrane or away from it by one lymphocyte cell thickness provided the strongest significant association with outcome and highest concordance rate [inter-cluster correlation coefficient = 0.95]. Assessment of periductal TILs at increasing distances from DCIS (0.2 , 0.5 , and 1 mm) as well as percent of stromal TILs were practically challenging and showed lower concordance rates than touching TILs. TILs hotspots and lymphoid follicles did not show prognostic significance. Within the pure DCIS validation set, dense TILs were associated with younger age, symptomatic presentation, larger size, higher nuclear grade, comedo necrosis and estrogen receptor negativity as well as shorter recurrence-free interval (p = 0.002). In multivariate survival analysis, dense TILs were independent predictor of shorter recurrence-free interval (p = 0.002) in patients treated with breast conservation. DCIS associated with invasive carcinoma showed denser TILs than pure DCIS (p = 9.0 × 10-13). Dense TILs is an independent prognostic variable in DCIS. Touching TILs provides a reproducible method for their assessment that can potentially be used to guide management

Phospholipase C-ε Regulates Epidermal Morphogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Migration of cells within epithelial sheets is an important feature of embryogenesis and other biological processes. Previous work has demonstrated a role for inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3)-mediated calcium signalling in the rearrangement of epidermal cells (also known as hypodermal cells) during embryonic morphogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans. However the mechanism by which IP3 production is stimulated is unknown. IP3 is produced by the action of phospholipase C (PLC). We therefore surveyed the PLC family of C. elegans using RNAi and mutant strains, and found that depletion of PLC-1/PLC-ε produced substantial embryonic lethality. We used the epithelial cell marker ajm-1::gfp to follow the behaviour of epidermal cells and found that 96% of the arrested embryos have morphogenetic defects. These defects include defective ventral enclosure and aberrant dorsal intercalation. Using time-lapse confocal microscopy we show that the migration of the ventral epidermal cells, especially of the leading cells, is slower and often fails in plc-1(tm753) embryos. As a consequence plc-1 loss of function results in ruptured embryos with a Gex phenotype (gut on exterior) and lumpy larvae. Thus PLC-1 is involved in the regulation of morphogenesis. Genetic studies using gain- and loss-of-function alleles of itr-1, the gene encoding the IP3 receptor in C. elegans, demonstrate that PLC-1 acts through ITR-1. Using RNAi and double mutants to deplete the other PLCs in a plc-1 background, we show that PLC-3/PLC-γ and EGL-8/PLC-β can compensate for reduced PLC-1 activity. Our work places PLC-ε into a pathway controlling epidermal cell migration, thus establishing a novel role for PLC-ε