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

Genetic Influences on the Developing Young Brain and Risk for Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Imaging genetics provides an opportunity to discern associations between genetic variants and brain imaging phenotypes. Historically, the field has focused on adults and adolescents; very few imaging genetics studies have focused on brain development in infancy and early childhood (from birth to age 6 years). This is an important knowledge gap because developmental changes in the brain during the prenatal and early postnatal period are regulated by dynamic gene expression patterns that likely play an important role in establishing an individual's risk for later psychiatric illness and neurodevelopmental disabilities. In this review, we summarize findings from imaging genetics studies spanning from early infancy to early childhood, with a focus on studies examining genetic risk for neuropsychiatric disorders. We also introduce the Organization for Imaging Genomics in Infancy (ORIGINs), a working group of the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) consortium, which was established to facilitate large-scale imaging genetics studies in infancy and early childhood

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Is Not a Contraindication for Breast Conservation

BACKGROUND: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype shown to have a high risk of locoregional recurrence (LRR). The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of operation type on LRR in TNBC patients. METHODS: A total of 1325 patients with TNBC who underwent breast-conserving therapy (BCT) or mastectomy from 1980 to the present were identified. Clinical and pathological factors were compared by the chi-square test. LRR-free survival (LRRFS), distant metastasis-free survival, and overall survival were estimated by the Kaplan–Meier method. Multivariate analysis was performed by the Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: BCT was performed in 651 patients (49%) and mastectomy in 674 (51%). The mastectomy group had larger tumors, a higher incidence of lymphovascular invasion, and higher pathologic N stage (all P < 0.001). At 62-month median follow-up, LRR was seen in 170 (26%) in the BCT group and 203 (30%) in the mastectomy group. Five-year LRRFS rates were higher in the BCT group (76% vs. 71%, P = 0.032), as was distant metastasis-free survival (68% vs. 54%, P < 0.0001) and overall survival (74% vs. 63%, P < 0.0001). On multivariate analysis, T stage (hazard ratio [HR] 1.37, P = 0.006), high nuclear grade (HR 1.92, P = 0.002), lymphovascular invasion (HR 1.93, P < 0.0001), close/positive margins (HR 1.89, P < 0.0001), and use of non–anthracycline or taxane-based adjuvant chemotherapy (HR 2.01, P < 0.0001) increased the LRR risk, while age >50 years was protective (HR 0.73, P = 0.007). Operation type (mastectomy vs. BCT, HR 1.07, P = 0.55) was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: BCT is not associated with increased LRR rates compared to mastectomy. TNBC should not be considered a contraindication for breast conservation