AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds

Functional traits offer a rich quantitative framework for developing and testing theories in evolutionary biology, ecology and ecosystem science. However, the potential of functional traits to drive theoretical advances and refine models of global change can only be fully realised when species‐level information is complete. Here we present the AVONET dataset containing comprehensive functional trait data for all birds, including six ecological variables, 11 continuous morphological traits, and information on range size and location. Raw morphological measurements are presented from 90,020 individuals of 11,009 extant bird species sampled from 181 countries. These data are also summarised as species averages in three taxonomic formats, allowing integration with a global phylogeny, geographical range maps, IUCN Red List data and the eBird citizen science database. The AVONET dataset provides the most detailed picture of continuous trait variation for any major radiation of organisms, offering a global template for testing hypotheses and exploring the evolutionary origins, structure and functioning of biodiversity

Establishing an anthropometric database: a case for the Portuguese working population

Up-to-date anthropometric databases can help design appropriate workstations and equipment, reducing occupational accidents and disorders. The primary aim of this study was to create a company database to support the hypothesis that the latest anthropometric database for the Portuguese working population was outdated. Through the traditional manual measurement method, this work collected data on 27 dimensions from 343 workers in an industry in Northern Portugal. The interclass correlation coefficient showed high agreeability intra- and inter-evaluators with average values of 0.940 and 0.950, respectively. Socioeconomic aspects of the sample population, including gender, immigration, and age, were evaluated. Statistical analysis included correlations between the 27 anthropometric dimensions, age, and Body Mass Index (BMI). Among the main findings, men displayed larger average dimensions than women except for hip breadth, and female body measures decreased more with age than males. Men were 1.6 times more likely to be overweight than women, whereas women were twice more likely to be obese. Concerning working shifts, individuals on the night shift showed an increased tendency to be overweight or obese (BMI>25). Since the previous database employed a different method (photogrammetric), it was possible to compare only five dimensions (stature, knee height, elbow height, hip breadth, and abdominal depth) through mean absolute differences. Variations in the population stature and knee and elbow heights support this work's hypothesis and underscore the need to establish and update the Portuguese anthropometric database with a reliable and reproducible method.This work is supported by FCT– Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020. The authors would also like to thank the European Structural and Investment Funds in the FEDER component, through the Operational Competitiveness and Internationalization Programme (COMPETE 2020) [Project nº 39479; Funding Reference: POCI-01-0247-FEDER-39479] for the grants of Diego Mattos, Lincoln Silva, and Paulo Anacleto

A dynamic continental moisture gradient drove Amazonian bird diversification

The Amazon is the primary source of Neotropical diversity and a nexus for discussions on processes that drive biotic diversification. Biogeographers have focused on the roles of rivers and Pleistocene climate change in explaining high rates of speciation. We combine phylogeographic and niche-based paleodistributional projections for 23 upland terra firme forest bird lineages from across the Amazon to derive a new model of regional biological diversification. We found that climate-driven refugial dynamics interact with dynamic riverine barriers to produce a dominant pattern: Older lineages in the wetter western and northern parts of the Amazon gave rise to lineages in the drier southern and eastern parts. This climate/drainage basin evolution interaction links landscape dynamics with biotic diversification and explains the east-west diversity gradients across the Amazon.Peer reviewe

Aspectos epidemiológicos da tuberculose em menores de 15 anos no Município de São Paulo, Brasil, 1984 Epidemiological aspects of tuberculosis for minors under 15 years old in a County of the Brazilian Southeast Region, 1984

Foram estudados todos os casos de tuberculose, referentes a 1984, envolvendo população residente no Município de São Paulo, SP, Brasil, na faixa etária de menores de 15 anos, cujo diagnóstico foi notificado ao Centro de Informações da Saúde da Secretaria de Estado da Saúde (SP). Foram analisados os prontuários em cada instituição que fez a notificação e realizadas entrevistas com os médicos responsáveis pelos casos. A incidência foi de 21,4/100.000 nos menores de 15 anos, a maior ocorrendo no grupo etário de menores de 5 anos (31,8/100.000 habitantes). Foram encontradas grandes diferenças entre os coeficientes correspondentes às diversas regiões do Município. A forma de tuberculose mais freqüente foi a pulmonar (83,1%-17,8/100.000) enquanto que a extrapulmonar foi de 12,2% (2,5/100.000) e a pulmonar associada a outras localizações extrapulmonares, de 4,7% (1,0/100.000 habitantes). Foram encontrados 46 casos com BK + correspondendo a 37,7% dos exames realizados, em material de origem pulmonar, e 16 casos com BK + (53,3% dos exames realizados), em material extrapulmonar. O coeficiente de incidência de casos com baciloscopia positiva de escarro foi de 0,9/100.000, sendo maior na idade de 10 a 14 anos (2,8/100.000).<br>Reported cases of tuberculosis in minors under fifteen years old in S.Paulo County, State of S.Paulo, Brazil, are analyzed. The Health Information Center of the Health Secretariat of the State of S. Paulo was notified of the diagnosis in all cases which occurred in 1984. The medical records were analyzed and the physicians in charge of the reports interviewed. Among the population studied the annual notification rate was 21.4/100,000 for minors under fifteen with largest incidence (31.8/100,000) for those under fifteen years old. Significant discrepancies between the various regions were observed. Pulmonary tuberculosis was by far the most predominant form of the disease (83.1% and 17.8/100,000). Pulmonary tuberculosis associated with extrapulmonary cases accounts for 4.7% of all the cases (1.100,000). Extrapulmonary cases (2.5/100,000) accounted for 12.2% of all reports. Also, a significant coefficient (1/100,000) was observed for meningitis (isolated or associated), equivalent to 4.9% of all cases. Nearly 35.7% (46 cases) of the lung material analysed revealed BK+. Of the extrapulmonary material analysed sixteen cases (53.3%) of them were BK+. The incidence of positive sputum smear cases was 0.9/100,000 inhab., being greater in the age group 10-14 (2.8/100,000 inhab)

The ‘heritability’ of domestication and its functional partitioning in the pig

We propose to estimate the proportion of variance explained by regression on genome-wide markers (or genomic heritability) when wild/domestic status is considered the phenotype of interest. This approach differs from the standard Fst in that it can accommodate genetic similarity between individuals in a general form. We apply this strategy to complete genome data from 47 wild and domestic pigs from Asia and Europe. When we partitioned the total genomic variance into components associated to subsets of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) defined in terms of their annotation, we found that potentially deleterious non-synonymous mutations (9566 SNPs) explained as much genetic variance as the whole set of 25 million SNPs. This suggests that domestication may have affected protein sequence to a larger extent than regulatory or other kinds of mutations. A pathway-guided analysis revealed ovarian steroidogenesis and leptin signaling as highly relevant in domestication. The genomic regression approach proposed in this study revealed molecular processes not apparent through typical differentiation statistics. We propose that at least some of these processes are likely new discoveries because domestication is a dynamic process of genetic selection, which may not be completely characterized by a static metric like Fst. Nevertheless, and despite some particularly influential mutation types or pathways, our analyses tend to rule out a simplistic genetic basis for the domestication process: neither a single pathway nor a unique set of SNPs can explain the process as a whole.This work was developed whereas the senior author was visiting CSIRO Agriculture in St Lucia campus (Brisbane, Australia) funded by a CSIRO McMaster Visiting Fellowship. Work also funded by AGL2013-41834-R grants (Ministry of Economy and Science, Spain) to MPE and NIH grant R01GM101219 (USA) to GDLC.Peer reviewe

AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds

Functional traits offer a rich quantitative framework for developing and testing theories in evolutionary biology, ecology and ecosystem science. However, the potential of functional traits to drive theoretical advances and refine models of global change can only be fully realised when species-level information is complete. Here we present the AVONET dataset containing comprehensive functional trait data for all birds, including six ecological variables, 11 continuous morphological traits, and information on range size and location. Raw morphological measurements are presented from 90,020 individuals of 11,009 extant bird species sampled from 181 countries. These data are also summarised as species averages in three taxonomic formats, allowing integration with a global phylogeny, geographical range maps, IUCN Red List data and the eBird citizen science database. The AVONET dataset provides the most detailed picture of continuous trait variation for any major radiation of organisms, offering a global template for testing hypotheses and exploring the evolutionary origins, structure and functioning of biodiversity