Borreria (Rubiaceae) from Paraguay: occurrences, richness, geographical distribution, and nomenclatural novelties

Borreria is a genus into the Spermacoce clade with ca 80 native species in the Americas, from southem EE.UU. to center of Argentina. In South America, taxonomic and floristic contributions were performed in the genus to Bolivian, Brazilian, and Argentinian floras. In this context, nomenclatural changes, new records, and new species have been published in the last decades for Paraguay, but until now there is no comprehensive taxonomic treatment. In addition, this country has a great diversity of ecoregions as the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, “Cordillera de los Altos”, Dry and Humid Chaco, Pantanal, and “Sabanas Mesopotámicas”. Our goal is to present an overview of Borreria in Paraguay, its geographical distribution, and the association of its occurrences in diíferent ecoregions. We studied collections deposited in BM, CTES, F, FACEN, FCQ, G, HUEFS, MO, P, SI, and SP. Coordinates were taken from the labels on each specimen, and when these were absent, the point was georeferenced using Google Earth according the locality ñames. A total of 503 datapoints were obtained corresponding to 21 species of Borreria. Each occurrence and ecoregions were mapped using QGIS. A map o f known richness was generated with this information and was quantified with 5 x 5 km cells using the Biodiverse software. As result, B. verticillata is the widest distribution species, whereas B. viridiflora is the only endemic species for Paraguay. Besides that, the ecoregion with the higher richness is the Atlantic Forest since it has 20 species, with B. diacrodonta, B. remota, and/i. runkii exclusive for it. In contrast, Pantanal and Dry Chaco have only one species each, B. cupularis and B. spinosa, respectively. Borreria alata is registered as a new record for the country, lectotypes for three varietal ñames are chosen, and five new synonyms for B. argéntea, B. orinocensis, and B. verticillata are proposed

Does the current taxonomic delimitation of Galianthe find support in phylogenetic perspective?

Galianthe Griseb. is a neotropical genus comprising 50 species divided into two subgenera: G. subgen. Galianthe (41 spp.), characterized by homogeneous morphological traits, with species further divided into two sections (G. secc. Galianthe and G. secc. Laxae); and G. subgen. Ebelia (14 spp.) with more heterogeneous morphological characteristics. Due to its morphological similarity with other genera, Galianthe has historically been associated with Borreria, Spermacoce, Diodia (based on fruit type), as well as Denscantia and Emmeorhiza (based on inflorescence type). In recent years, molecular studies have established Galianthe as a basal genus within the Spermacoce clade, closely related to other genera such as Carajasia and Schwendenera. Despite the progress made in recent molecular studies, the studies have focused on a limited number of species within the genus, failing to encompass all infrageneric categories. Questioning of the current taxonomic delimitation of the genus, this study aims to test the monophyly of Galianthe and explore its infrageneric and interspecific phylogenetic relationships. Three markers (two nuclear: ITS, ETS, and one plastid: rps16) were utilized, encompassing 107 entities, including 42 Galianthe species, thereby representing 76% of the current genus diversity, as well as 17 closely related genera within the Spermacoce clade. The phylogenetic results confirm the monophyly of Galianthe, revealing the presence of three major subclades. Subclades I and II comprise several G. subgen. Ebelia species, whereas subclade III consists of all G. subgen. Galianthe species plus G. angulata. Regarding the sections, monophyly was not supported. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that G. subgen. Ebelia is paraphyletic, G. subgen. Galianthe is potentially paraphyletic due to G. angulata, and there is no clear distinction between the sections

Prevalencia de infección por coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 en pacientes y profesionales de un hospital de media y larga estancia en España

Background and goals: The aim of the study is to know the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients and professional staff of a medium or long-stay hospital during the peak period of the pandemic in Spain, spring 2020. Material and methods: At the end of February 2020, we developed at the hospital a strategy to diagnose the SARS-CoV-2 infection consisting of complementing the realization of PCR tests at real time with a quick technique of lateral flow immunochromatography to detect IgG and IgM antibodies against the virus. We also developed a protocol to realize those diagnostic tests and considered an infection (current or past) a positive result in any of the above tests. We included 524 participants in the study (230 patients and 294 hospital staff), and divided them into hospital patients and Hemodialysis outpatients. Furthermore, we divided the hospital staff into healthcare and non-healthcare staff. The documented period was from March, 20th to April, 21st, 2020. Results: 26 out of 230 patients tested positive in any of the diagnostic techniques (PCR, antibodies IgG, IgM) with a 11.30% prevalence. According to patients groups, we got a 14.38% prevalence in hospital patients vs. 5.95% in outpatients, with a significantly higher risk in admitted patients after adjustment for age and gender (OR=3, 309, 95%CI: 1, 154-9, 495). 24 out of 294 hospital staff tested positive in any of the diagnostic techniques, with a 8.16% prevalence. According to the groups, we got a 8.91% prevalence in healthcare staff vs. 4.26% in non-healthcare staff. Thus, we do not see any statistically significant differences between hospital staff and patients as far as prevalence is concerned (P=0, 391), (OR=2, 200, 95%CI: 0, 500-9, 689). Conclusions: The result of the study was a quite low prevalence rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection, in both patients and hospital staff, being the hospital patients’ prevalence rate higher than the outpatients’, and the healthcare staff higher than the non-healthcare''s. Combining PCR tests (gold standard) with antibodies tests proved useful as a diagnostic strategy

Intra and inter-annual variation in the diet of Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) at Martillo Island, Beagle Channel

Knowledge of seabirds’ diet at each breeding site and its temporal variation is key to understanding and evaluating how changes in marine resources affect each seabird population. In this study, we determined the diet of Magellanic penguins (MP, Spheniscus magellanicus) at Martillo Island, accounting for sex, breeding stage and year. We analyzed a total of 144 stomach contents during three consecutive breeding seasons (2006–2007, 2007–2008 and 2008–2009) and stages (incubation, early and late chick-rearing). MP fed mainly on fuegian sprat (Sprattus fuegensis), which represented 75 % of the biomass consumed by birds during the entire study. The next important prey was squat lobster (Munida gregaria), followed by Patagonian squid (Loligo gahi). Both sexes consumed similar prey items. We observed variation in diet relative composition among breeding years and stages. Fuegian sprat consumption decreased throughout the years whereas squat lobster increased. Penguins consumed a higher proportion of squat lobster and Patagonian squid during the incubation stage than in the chick-rearing stages, whereas fuegian sprat was almost the only prey item consumed during the late chick-rearing stage. MPs show certain flexibility in the use of resources probably as a response to changes in prey populations. Variability in the diet among different reproductive stages could be related to changes in the distribution and abundance of their main prey near the colony during the breeding season together with changes in the energy requirements of seabirds.Fil: Scioscia, Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Raya Rey, Andrea Nélida. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Saenz Samaniego, Ricardo Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Florentin, Olga Viviana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Schiavini, Adrian Carlos Miguel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentin