European Vegetation Archive (EVA): An integrated database of European vegetation plots

© 2016 International Association for Vegetation Science. The European Vegetation Archive (EVA) is a centralized database of European vegetation plots developed by the IAVS Working Group European Vegetation Survey. It has been in development since 2012 and first made available for use in research projects in 2014. It stores copies of national and regional vegetation- plot databases on a single software platform. Data storage in EVA does not affect on-going independent development of the contributing databases, which remain the property of the data contributors. EVA uses a prototype of the database management software TURBOVEG 3 developed for joint management of multiple databases that use different species lists. This is facilitated by the SynBioSys Taxon Database, a system of taxon names and concepts used in the individual European databases and their corresponding names on a unified list of European flora. TURBOVEG 3 also includes procedures for handling data requests, selections and provisions according to the approved EVA Data Property and Governance Rules. By 30 June 2015, 61 databases from all European regions have joined EVA, contributing in total 1 027 376 vegetation plots, 82% of them with geographic coordinates, from 57 countries. EVA provides a unique data source for large-scale analyses of European vegetation diversity both for fundamental research and nature conservation applications. Updated information on EVA is available online at http://euroveg.org/eva-database

Ten millennia of hepatitis B virus evolution

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been infecting humans for millennia and remains a global health problem, but its past diversity and dispersal routes are largely unknown. We generated HBV genomic data from 137 Eurasians and Native Americans dated between similar to 10,500 and similar to 400 years ago. We date the most recent common ancestor of all HBV lineages to between similar to 20,000 and 12,000 years ago, with the virus present in European and South American hunter-gatherers during the early Holocene. After the European Neolithic transition, Mesolithic HBV strains were replaced by a lineage likely disseminated by early farmers that prevailed throughout western Eurasia for similar to 4000 years, declining around the end of the 2nd millennium BCE. The only remnant of this prehistoric HBV diversity is the rare genotype G, which appears to have reemerged during the HIV pandemic.Molecular Technology and Informatics for Personalised Medicine and Healt

Ten millennia of hepatitis B virus evolution

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been infecting humans for millennia and remains a global health problem, but its past diversity and dispersal routes are largely unknown. We generated HBV genomic data from 137 Eurasians and Native Americans dated between ~10,500 and ~400 years ago. We date the most recent common ancestor of all HBV lineages to between ~20,000 and 12,000 years ago, with the virus present in European and South American hunter-gatherers during the early Holocene. After the European Neolithic transition, Mesolithic HBV strains were replaced by a lineage likely disseminated by early farmers that prevailed throughout western Eurasia for ~4000 years, declining around the end of the 2nd millennium BCE. The only remnant of this prehistoric HBV diversity is the rare genotype G, which appears to have reemerged during the HIV pandemic

Species diversity of segetal plant communities in the Early Neolithic settlement area of the Sleza Landscape Park

The paper contains results of investigations carried out in crop fields within the protected area, which is an important refuge of species diversity in grounds dominated by large-area farms. The segetal vegetation is represented by 13 plant communities, the development of which is influenced by various tillage manipulations. As a result, the segetal flora of the Ślęża Landscape Park is heavily threatened and the structure and species richness of phytocoenoses are distinctly transformed. This is reflected in the frequency of weed occurrence in crops (i.e. there is a small group of common species and a very numerous group of species with 1 or 2 localities), as well as in values of biocoenotic indicators, e.g. the values of diversity indicator H vary between 1 and 3.5. An analysis of archaeophytes participation (frequency and numbers) in ATPOL squares indicates their significant connection with archaeological sites of the Neolithic settlement. Particular adherence to the early Neolithic settlement areas shows a group of species from the Caucalidion alliance. The richness and diversity of the Park vegetation, conditioned by many hundreds of years of agriculture, are now strongly transformed and have become impoverished. Establishing the Landscape Park, in order to preserve the natural-landscape character of the environment and its cultural and historical values, does not ensure the protection of both the species and the phytocoenotic diversity of this area

Formalized hierarchically nested expert system for classification of mesic and wet grasslands in Poland

The goal of this study was to propose a hierarchically nested classification system comprising four principal levels of the Braun-Blanquet system for Polish grasslands of the class Molinio-Arrhenatheretea. Using the Cocktail method, we defined consistent criteria for delimitation of the class, three orders, nine alliances, and 45 associations. Formal definitions were prepared using the summed cover and presence/absence information of species groups and individual dominant species. We created an expert system with a set of assignment rules that unambiguously classify relevés to a single unit at the given abstraction level of the Braun-Blanquet system in such a way that a relevé matched by the definition of a focal vegetation unit must be matched by definitions of all superior units. Of 11,535 relevés classified to Molinio-Arrhenatheretea, 36% were recognized at the association level, and 57% and 85% at the alliance and order level, respectively. All relevés were assigned unambiguously, meaning that a single relevé could not be assigned to more than one unit within the same hierarchical level (no overlap between vegetation units). This study is the first proposal of a hierarchically nested classification system that classifies grassland vegetation at different syntaxonomical levels unequivocally. It is important to create definitions for different syntaxonomical levels because the majority of vegetation patches do not fit to the associations, but can only be assigned to high-rank units such as alliance, order, or class

Rich table but short life: Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis in Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) and its possible consequences

The exhumation of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546–1601) was performed in 2010 to verify speculative views on the cause of his death. Previous analyses of skeletal and hair remains recovered from his grave refuted the presumption that he died from poisoning. These studies also outlined the possibility that he actually died from an acute illness, echoing the rather vague and inaccurate testimony of some historical records. We performed a detailed paleopathological analysis of Tycho Brahe’s skeletal remains, along with a reconstruction of his diet based on carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes analysis and an estimate of his physical status (relative body fat) based on medullar and cortical dimensions of the femoral shaft. The astronomer’s remains exhibit bone changes indicative of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). The study further allows us to classify him as obese (100% reliability according to our decision tree designed from Danish males), and points out his rich diet (high input of animal protein and/or marine resources) and high social status. Comorbidities of DISH and obesity are reviewed, and their influence on health status is discussed. We further consider some conditions associated with metabolic syndrome as possible causes of Tycho Brahe’s final symptoms (urinary retention, renal failure and coma), including diabetes, alcoholic ketoacidosis and benign prostatic hypertrophy. Although a definite and specific diagnosis cannot be established, our study points to today’s civilization diseases often associated with DISH and metabolic syndrome as the possible cause of death of Tycho Brahe

Vegetation of the European mountain river gravel bars: A formalized classification

Aims: River gravel bars are endangered habitats in Europe. However, classification schemes of their vegetation and habitat types differ among European countries, and they are even ignored in some national schemes. This causes problems in conservation planning, monitoring and management. Hence we aimed at building the first unified vegetation classification for river gravel-bar habitats across European mountain systems. Location: Europe. Methods: In total 4,769 vegetation plot records of river gravel-bar plant communities were collected from national, regional or private databases, digitized from the literature and newly collected in the field. A hierarchical classification expert system with formal definitions of vegetation types was created. The definitions combined the criteria of presence or cover of groups of species with similar ecology or single species narrowly specialized to a particular gravel-bar habitat. The TWINSPAN classification was applied to early-successional vegetation types to check whether the classification based on formal definitions was supported by the results of unsupervised classification. Similarity patterns among vegetation types were visualized using the detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) ordination. Results: Early-successional and scrub gravel-bar vegetation types were respectively classified into two classes: Thlaspietea rotundifolii and Salicetea purpureae. Eleven associations and four alliances (Calamagrostion pseudophragmitae, Epilobion fleischeri, Salicion cantabricae and Salicion eleagno-daphnoidis) were defined formally. Based on a critical revision, some associations or alliances defined in the previous literature were merged or discarded. The main gradient in variability within the gravel-bar vegetation is connected with the altitudinal gradient, biogeographical variation, local hydromorphological processes and various successional changes. Conclusions: The first unified and formalized classification system of the European mountain river gravel-bar vegetation was created, and species composition, ecology and distribution of these types were characterized. The syntaxonomical nomenclature of these types was checked and revised. This study provides a base for conservation planning of these threatened and rapidly disappearing habitats